bite
Americanverb (used with object)
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bites,
present (3rd person singular)
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bit,
past participle, past
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bitten,
past participle
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biting
present participle
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to cut, wound, or tear with the teeth.
She bit the apple greedily. The lion bit his trainer.
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to grip or hold with the teeth.
Stop biting your lip!
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to sting, as does an insect.
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to cause to smart or sting.
an icy wind that bit our faces.
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to sever with the teeth (often followed byoff ).
Don't bite your nails. The child bit off a large piece of the candy bar.
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to start to eat (often followed byinto ).
She bit into her steak.
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to clamp the teeth firmly on or around (often followed byon ).
He bit hard on the stick while they removed the bullet from his leg.
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Informal.
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to eat into or corrode, as does an acid.
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to cut or pierce with, or as with, a weapon.
The sword split his helmet and bit him fatally.
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Etching. to etch with acid (a copper or other surface) in such parts as are left bare of a protective coating.
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to take firm hold or act effectively on.
We need a clamp to bite the wood while the glue dries.
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Archaic. to make a decided impression on; affect.
verb (used without object)
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bites,
present (3rd person singular)
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bit,
past participle, past
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bitten,
past participle
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biting
present participle
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to press the teeth into something; attack with the jaws, bill, sting, etc.; snap.
Does your parrot bite?
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Angling. (of fish) to take bait.
The fish aren't biting today.
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to accept an offer or suggestion, especially one intended to trick or deceive.
I knew it was a mistake, but I bit anyway.
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Informal. to admit defeat in guessing.
I'll bite, who is it?
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to act effectively; grip; hold.
This wood is so dry the screws don't bite.
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Slang. to be notably repellent, disappointing, poor, etc.; suck.
noun
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bites
plural
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an act of biting.
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a wound made by biting.
a deep bite.
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a cutting, stinging, or nipping effect.
the bite of an icy wind; the bite of whiskey on the tongue.
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a piece bitten off.
Chew each bite carefully.
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a small meal.
Let's have a bite before the theater.
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a portion severed from the whole.
the government's weekly bite of my paycheck.
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a morsel of food.
not a bite to eat.
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the occlusion of one's teeth.
The dentist said I had a good bite.
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Machinery.
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the catch or hold that one object or one part of a mechanical apparatus has on another.
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a surface brought into contact to obtain a hold or grip, as in a lathe chuck or similar device.
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the amount of material that a mechanical shovel or the like can carry at one time.
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sharpness; incisiveness; effectiveness.
The bite of his story is spoiled by his slovenly style.
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the roughness of the surface of a file.
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Metalworking. the maximum angle, measured from the center of a roll in a rolling mill, between a perpendicular and a line to the point of contact where a given object to be rolled will enter between the rolls.
idioms
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put the bite on,
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to solicit or attempt to borrow money or something of value from.
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to press for money, as in extortion.
They found out about his prison record and began to put the bite on him.
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bite the hand that feeds one, to repay kindness with malice or injury.
When he berates his boss, he is biting the hand that feeds him.
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bite the bullet. bullet.
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bite the dust. dust.
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bite / snap someone's head off, to respond with anger or impatience to someone's question or comment.
He'll bite your head off if you ask for anything.
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bite off more than one can chew, to attempt something that exceeds one's capacity.
In trying to build a house by himself, he bit off more than he could chew.
verb
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to grip, cut off, or tear with or as if with the teeth or jaws
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(of animals, insects, etc) to injure by puncturing or tearing (the skin or flesh) with the teeth, fangs, etc, esp as a natural characteristic
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(tr) to cut or penetrate, as with a knife
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(of corrosive material such as acid) to eat away or into
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to smart or cause to smart; sting
mustard bites the tongue
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(intr) angling (of a fish) to take or attempt to take the bait or lure
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to take firm hold of or act effectively upon
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to grip or hold (a workpiece) with a tool or chuck
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(of a screw, thread, etc) to cut into or grip (an object, material, etc)
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informal (tr) to annoy or worry
what's biting her?
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slang (often passive) to cheat
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slang to ask (for); scrounge from
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informal to attempt a task beyond one's capability
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to face up to (pain, trouble, etc) with fortitude; be stoical
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to respond harshly and rudely (to)
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See dust
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to repay kindness with injury or ingratitude
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after an unpleasant experience one is cautious in similar situations
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slang to ask someone for money
noun
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the act of biting
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a thing or amount bitten off
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a wound, bruise, or sting inflicted by biting
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angling an attempt by a fish to take the bait or lure
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informal an incisive or penetrating effect or quality
that's a question with a bite
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a light meal; snack
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a cutting, stinging, or smarting sensation
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the depth of cut of a machine tool
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the grip or hold applied by a tool or chuck to a workpiece
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dentistry the angle or manner of contact between the upper and lower teeth when the mouth is closed naturally
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the surface of a file or rasp with cutting teeth
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the corrosive action of acid, as on a metal etching plate
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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bitesimple
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bitessimple
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have bitperfect
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have bittenperfect
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has bitperfect
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has bittenperfect
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am bitingprogressive
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are bitingprogressive
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is bitingprogressive
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have been bitingperfect progressive
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has been bitingperfect progressive
Past
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bitsimple
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had bitperfect
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had bittenperfect
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was bitingprogressive
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were bitingprogressive
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had been bitingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of bite
First recorded before 1000; Middle English biten, Old English bītan; cognate with Old High German bīzan ( German beissen ), Gothic beitan, Old Norse bīta; akin to Latin findere “to split”
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:
Whether you’re in your 50s, 60s or living in a nursing home, those formative experiences in the schoolyard have a way of coming back to bite you when you least expect it.
From MarketWatch ● Sep. 23, 2026
You could soften the onion first if you prefer, but I liked the little bit of bite it retained after baking.
From Salon ● Sep. 22, 2026
"So, I think for fans, 'Don't bite the hand that feeds you'. If people keep taunting him and don't want him to win, he might end up just walking away and not bothering anymore."
From BBC ● Sep. 21, 2026
Their loss will come back to bite companies sooner than they realize.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 17, 2026
Daisy said, “Mama, you doctor Jay Berry, and I’ll take care of Rowdy. He wouldn’t bite me even if he was going mad.”
From "Summer of the Monkeys" by Wilson Rawls
Spread mainly by midge bites, the virus was confirmed in a sheep in Cornwall in September 2025.
From BBC ● Sep. 11, 2026
Plus, mac and cheese grows up as Barilla bites on healthier Goodles.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 8, 2026
This weekend, leave the predictable bag of chips behind and win the cookout with thrilling bites from Thailand, Canada, and even … Pennsylvania.
From Slate ● Sep. 4, 2026
Highly venomous and responsible for more fatal snake bites in Central America than any other species, the fer-de-lance is well camouflaged and can blend into plantation habitats, sometimes going unnoticed by workers.
From BBC ● Aug. 25, 2026
I hid it in the fridge like Agnes said to, so this morning for breakfast I scrambled it and Mom, Dad, and I each had two bites.
From "Unusual Chickens for the Exceptional Poultry Farmer" by Kelly Jones
Did I just blow the last bit of support I had?
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 24, 2026
"So, as you all know, my schedule freed up a bit," he said upon announcing the tour on Thursday.
From BBC ● Sep. 24, 2026
He is also an art lover and spent quite a bit of time getting acquainted with the city’s thriving arts ecosystem.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 24, 2026
“Historically, younger people had a little bit more risk tolerance,” said James Kostulias, Schwab’s head of trading services.
From MarketWatch ● Sep. 24, 2026
I swallowed the last bit of cream bun, wiped my hands on the back of my skirt, and stood up.
From "The Hiding Place" by Corrie ten Boom
A surfer in his fifties was rushed to hospital on Monday after being bitten by a shark in Western Australia, the state government and local ambulance service said.
From Barron's ● Sep. 14, 2026
That radioactive spider that transformed Peter Parker into Spider-Man could have bitten the class moron just as easily.
From Salon ● Aug. 16, 2026
While Tayane Dalazen was bitten by a nurse shark - known as a more docile species - some influencers have been filmed touching tiger sharks and even great whites.
From BBC ● Aug. 15, 2026
A kayaker was bitten by a hammerhead that year, too, and people fishing off Sunset Beach encountered a 10-foot hammerhead, according to news accounts at the time.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 15, 2026
Sure, she got bitten in the process, but it was nothing, really.
From "Scythe" by Neal Shusterman
To distract the dog from biting them, they said, they fed it cereal they’d taken from a neighboring house where Yakeschi’s aunt lived.
From Slate ● Sep. 17, 2026
If cats get bored, they might redirect toward knocking things over, tearing up the carpet or biting.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 11, 2026
Atmosphere is integral to the film’s success, fashioning the quiet landscape of wintry Upper East Side Manhattan into an ambience far warmer than the biting New York cold.
From Salon ● Sep. 7, 2026
Sir Tony Blair wrote that "PMQs was the most nerve wracking, discombobulating, nail biting, bowel moving, terror inspiring, courage draining experience in my prime ministerial life, without question".
From BBC ● Sep. 2, 2026
Since long before the Light he’d been nosing them and biting their tails -but they still didn’t move.
From "Wolf Brother" by Michelle Paver
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.
