Did you know?
In Return of the Jedi, the villain Darth Vader speaks with an old-timey flair when he asks his boss, the Emperor, for instructions: “What is thy bidding, my master?” If the film’s screenwriters wanted him to sound even more old-timey, however, they could have chosen to have him ask “What is thy behest?” As a word for a command or order, behest predates bidding in English by a couple centuries, dating all the way back—long, long ago, though still in this galaxy—to the 1100s. Its Old English ancestor, the noun behǣs, referred to a promise, a meaning that continued on in Middle English especially in the phrase “the land of behest” but is now obsolete. The “command” sense of behest is still in good use, typically referring to an authoritative order, whether from an emperor or some other high-ranking figure. Behest is now also used with a less forceful meaning; it can refer to an urgent prompting, as in “an anniversary showing of classic films at the behest of the franchise’s fans.”
Examples of behest in a Sentence
Sudarsan Raghavan, New Yorker, 12 Mar. 2026
The exemption from competitive bidding would apply to contractual services, construction, repairs, supplies, equipment and furniture procured at the behest of the sports authority.
—Matthew Kelly, Kansas City Star, 10 Mar. 2026
At music director Fabio Luisi’s behest, the first piece on each program will be unidentified, encouraging audiences to listen without any preconceptions.
—Scott Cantrell, Dallas Morning News, 6 Mar. 2026
But the Texas Supreme Court, at the behest of state Attorney General Ken Paxton, ruled the Dallas County ballots cast after the original close of polls had to be separated from other ballots.
—Phillip M. Bailey, USA Today, 4 Mar. 2026
See All Example Sentences for behest
Cite this Entry
“Behest.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/behest. Accessed 15 Mar. 2026.
Copy CitationKids Definition
behest
noun
