behavior Meaning, Definition & Usage

  1. noun manner of acting or controlling yourself
    behaviour; doings; conduct.
  2. noun the action or reaction of something (as a machine or substance) under specified circumstances
    behaviour.
    • the behavior of small particles can be studied in experiments
  3. noun (behavioral attributes) the way a person behaves toward other people
    demeanour; behaviour; demeanor; deportment; conduct.
  4. noun (psychology) the aggregate of the responses or reactions or movements made by an organism in any situation
    behaviour.

WordNet

Be*hav"ior noun
Definitions
  1. Manner of behaving, whether good or bad; mode of conducting one's self; conduct; deportment; carriage; -- used also of inanimate objects; as, the behavior of a ship in a storm; the behavior of the magnetic needle.
    A gentleman that is very singular in his behavior. Steele.
    Syn. -- Bearing; demeanor; manner. -- Behavior, Conduct. Behavior is the mode in which we have or bear ourselves in the presence of others or toward them; conduct is the mode of our carrying ourselves forward in the concerns of life. Behavior respects our manner of acting in particular cases; conduct refers to the general tenor of our actions. We may say of soldiers, that their conduct had been praiseworthy during the whole campaign, and their behavior admirable in every instance when they met the enemy.

Webster 1913