behest

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“
The end of the series came at Butt's behest, the idea being to go out on top.

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Definitions (8)

Toggle American Heritage definitions American Heritage Dictionary (2)

  1. noun An authoritative command.
  2. noun An urgent request: I called the office at the behest of my assistant.

Toggle Century definitions Century Dictionary (3)

Toggle GNU Webster definitions GNU Webster's 1913 (2)

Toggle WordNet definitions WordNet (1)

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Examples (50)

  • Rick Perry's behest, the county entered into talks with fireworks sellers to try to arrive at a compromise for this season, should drought conditions drag on. —  The Gazette-Enterprise: News
  • At Titan's behest, the case was back in federal district court Tuesday after Gonzales ignored the judge's permanent injunction prohibiting him from "engaging in any unauthorized use of plaintiff's copyrighted works" in the future. —  AVN News
  • Bush seeks final bailout funds at Obama's behest - Acting at Barack Obama's behest, President George W. Bush on Monday asked Congress for the final $350 billion in the financial bailout fund, effectively ceding economic reins to the president-elect in an extraordinary display of transition teamwork. —  Megite Technology News: What's Happening Right Now
  • At President-elect Obama's behest, our current president (OCP) has agreed to —  The Reaction
  • Facing a key vote this week in the Senate on whether the $350 billion should be released to the at Obama's behest, his aides met with skeptical Republican senators. —  Yahoo! News: Top Stories
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Roget's II Roget's II: The New Thesaurus

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Roget's II: The New Thesaurus, Third Edition by the Editors of the American Heritage® Dictionary. Copyright © 2003, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

Etymologies (3)

Toggle American Heritage etymologies American Heritage Dictionary (1)

  1. Middle English bihest, vow, from Old English behǣs; see kei-2 in Indo-European roots.

Toggle Century etymologies Century Dictionary (2)

  1. from Middle English behest, bihest, beheste, etc., with excrescent t, earlier behese, from late Anglo-Saxon behǣs, a promise, vow (equivalent to behāt = Old High German biheiz, a promise; cf. behight, n.), from behātan, promise: see behight, v., and hest.
  2. from Middle English behesten, promise, from beheste, a promise: see behest, n.
 

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/bəˈhɛst/
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