in behalf of

Idioms  

1. Also, on behalf of.

2. For someone else, as someone's agent or representative. For example, In behalf of the board, I want to thank you for your help , or Joan was speaking on behalf of the entire staff . [c. 1300]

3. For someone's benefit or interest, as in He was collecting the dues in my behalf . [Late 1500s] Some authorities insist that in behalf of be used only to mean “for someone's benefit” and on behalf of only to mean “as someone's agent.” In practice, however, the terms are so often used interchangeably that this distinction no longer has a basis.

---

Example Sentences

“Now the prosecution’s case rests on one thing: convincing you, the jurors, that Mr. Weisselberg’s actions were done in behalf of the company.”

From Seattle Times • Dec. 1, 2022

“And I gladly join in ascribing praise to that great daily for courageous fight upon this subject in behalf of the common people.”

From Fox News • Oct. 16, 2020

“The sons of Liberty withstood the Lords in Parliament in behalf of true Liberty,” the Regulators complained in 1766, so “let not Officers under them carry on unjust Oppression in our own Province.”

From Textbooks • Jan. 18, 2018

Justices found that McDonnell’s conduct - steering the state machinery in behalf of favored interests - did not amount to “official acts.”

From Washington Times • Aug. 16, 2017

What I did then, in behalf of Security, was done on the spur of the moment, and afterwards I tried not to think about it.

From "The Egypt Game" by Zilpha Keatley Snyder