bile
Americannoun
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biles
plural
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Physiology. a bitter, alkaline, yellow or greenish liquid, secreted by the liver, that aids in absorption and digestion, especially of fats.
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ill temper; peevishness.
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Old Physiology. either of two humors associated with anger and gloominess.
noun
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a bitter greenish to golden brown alkaline fluid secreted by the liver and stored in the gall bladder. It is discharged during digestion into the duodenum, where it aids the emulsification and absorption of fats
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irritability or peevishness
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archaic either of two bodily humours, one of which ( black bile ) was thought to cause melancholy and the other ( yellow bile ) anger
verb
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A bitter, alkaline, brownish-yellow or greenish-yellow fluid that is secreted by the liver, concentrated and stored in the gallbladder, and discharged into the duodenum of the small intestine. It helps in the digestion of fats and the neutralization of acids, such as the hydrochloric acid secreted by the stomach. Bile consists of salts, acids, cholesterol, lipids, pigments, and water.
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◆ Bile salts help in the emulsification, digestion, and absorption of fats.
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◆ Bile pigments are waste products formed by the breakdown of hemoglobin from old red blood cells.
Discover More
Bile is sometimes used figuratively to denote bitterness in general: “His writing was full of bile.”
Other Word Forms
Noun Inflected Forms
Etymology
Origin of bile
First recorded in 1655–65; from French, from Latin bīlis; of disputed origin; compare Breton bestl, Medieval Cornish bystel, Welsh bustl
Explanation
In medicine, bile is a fluid secreted by the liver and used to help breakdown fats. Because it used to be associated with anger, feeling your bile rise is the same as feeling mounting anger. How did bile get linked to anger? Pre-modern doctors believed there were four basic substances to the human body, called humours, one of which was yellow bile that controlled anger. It doesn't, but when you feel angry, you'll still hear that you have to swallow your bile.
Vocabulary lists containing bile
Human Anatomy and Physiology - Introductory
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Life As We Knew It
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Human Anatomy and Physiology - High School
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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.
See Examples For:
The bears, which arrived on Thursday, had been kept at one of South Korea's last bear bile farms – sites which have now been banned in the country.
From BBC ● Sep. 16, 2026
South Korea banned the breeding and possession of the bears last year, along with the extraction of bile from their gallbladders.
From BBC ● Sep. 16, 2026
So we get to witness the arguments, which unfortunately for the responsible parties—the “org” that attracts bile online and off—seem to portend the struggles to come.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 7, 2026
Earlier studies have shown that low oxygen levels can alter bile acids, substances produced by the liver, stored in the gallbladder, and released into the intestines to help digest fats.
From Science Daily ● Jun. 9, 2026
He swallowed the bile that rose in his throat.
From "Six of Crows" by Leigh Bardugo
“Put a finger down if simone biles just ended you 🖐🏼,” Lee wrote, referring to a popular TikTok trend.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 31, 2024
Alexander Calder's vivid mo biles were meant to jiggle and gyrate under the leaves, George Rickey's feathery kinetics to stir in the breeze.
From Time Magazine Archive
"Not naterally, I said; biles and country roads is enough to make Job and me swear."
From Samantha at the World's Fair by Baron C. de Grimm
No; an' likewise away up yondeh pas' the Tennessee line, at Islan' Thutty-eight, whah the current's so full o' biles an' swells an' snags an' sawyehs 'at they calls it the Devil's Elbow!
From Gideon's Band A Tale of the Mississippi by George Washington Cable
But she brought me some black-eyed peas today, and I lac's um 'caze dey biles sof', and I say 'ef de devil brought hit, God sarnt hit.'
From Slave Narratives: A Folk History of Slavery in the United States From Interviews with Former Slaves: Volume I, Alabama Narratives by United States. Work Projects Administration
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.
