On Behalf of vs. in Behalf of: Usage Guide
A body of opinion favors in with the "interest, benefit" sense of behalf and on with the "support, defense" sense. This distinction has been observed by some writers but overall has never had a sound basis in actual usage. In current British use, on behalf (of) has replaced in behalf (of); both are still used in American English, but the distinction is frequently not observed.
Examples of behalf in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
Stefano Agosto, executive vice president of television at Outlier Society, will oversee the project on behalf of the company.
—
Joe Otterson, Variety, 5 Feb. 2025
The lawsuit was filed by Public Citizen Litigation Group on behalf of Doctors For America and names the Office of Personnel Management, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the Food and Drug Administration and the Department of Health and Human Services as defendants.
—Anders Fogh Rasmussen, Newsweek, 5 Feb. 2025
Political observers widely credited Cambridge Analytica’s data work on behalf of the Trump campaign for the historic victory, but the firm’s work for the NSSF to reach gun owners and others sympathetic to the Second Amendment wasn’t publicly known.
—Corey G. Johnson, ProPublica, 5 Feb. 2025
Similar to last year, this year’s participants each received a $40,000 grant on behalf of Genesis to finance their design innovations and participated in an immersion trip to Seoul to seek cultural inspiration for their collections.
—Lisa Lockwood, WWD, 5 Feb. 2025
See all Example Sentences for behalf 
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Joe Otterson, Variety, 5 Feb. 2025
The lawsuit was filed by Public Citizen Litigation Group on behalf of Doctors For America and names the Office of Personnel Management, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the Food and Drug Administration and the Department of Health and Human Services as defendants.
—Anders Fogh Rasmussen, Newsweek, 5 Feb. 2025
Political observers widely credited Cambridge Analytica’s data work on behalf of the Trump campaign for the historic victory, but the firm’s work for the NSSF to reach gun owners and others sympathetic to the Second Amendment wasn’t publicly known.
—Corey G. Johnson, ProPublica, 5 Feb. 2025
Similar to last year, this year’s participants each received a $40,000 grant on behalf of Genesis to finance their design innovations and participated in an immersion trip to Seoul to seek cultural inspiration for their collections.
—Lisa Lockwood, WWD, 5 Feb. 2025
See all Example Sentences for behalf
Dictionary Entries Near behalf
Cite this Entry
“Behalf.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/behalf. Accessed 9 Feb. 2025.
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