behalf
Americanidioms
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in / on behalf of, as a representative of or a proxy for.
On behalf of my colleagues, I address you tonight.
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in / on someone's behalf, in the interest or aid of (someone).
He interceded in my behalf.
noun
Usage
On behalf of is sometimes wrongly used where on the part of is intended. The distinction is that on behalf of someone means `for someone's benefit' or `representing someone', while on the part of someone can be roughly paraphrased as `by someone'. So, the following example is incorrect: another act of apparent negligence, this time not on behalf of the company itself, but on behalf of its banker , when what was meant was there was negligence by the company's banker
Etymology
Origin of behalf
First recorded in 1400–50; late Middle English; Middle English bihalve, earlier as adverb and preposition with the sense “near(by),” originally, as prepositional phrase bi halve “on one side”; be-, by, half
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Two local officials resigned after offering to buy 51% of the resort for $127.5 million on behalf of investors, prompting investigations by both town councils.
They said the deputy first minister attended "on behalf of the Executive Office."
From BBC
Agents are AI systems that act relatively autonomously to carry out tasks on behalf of users.
The Calpers investment office manages assets on behalf of more than 2 million members, making it the largest defined-benefit public pension in the country.
From Barron's
It could decide to investigate on their behalf and force member states to take action - notable examples involving Wales included addressing emissions of harmful pollutants from Aberthaw coal-fired power station in the Vale of Glamorgan.
From BBC
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
