bribe
Americannoun
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money or any other valuable consideration given or promised with a view to corrupting the behavior of a person, especially in that person's performance as an athlete, public official, etc..
The motorist offered the arresting officer a bribe to let him go.
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anything given or serving to persuade or induce.
The children were given candy as a bribe to be good.
verb (used with object)
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to give or promise a bribe to.
They bribed the reporter to forget about what he had seen.
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to influence or corrupt by a bribe.
The judge was too honest to be bribed.
verb (used without object)
verb
noun
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a reward, such as money or favour, given or offered for this purpose
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any persuasion or lure
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a length of flawed or damaged cloth removed from the main piece
Usage
What does bribe mean? A bribe is money or something else of value offered or given to someone to get them to do something you want them to do, especially something they’re not supposed to do.Bribe can also be used as a verb meaning to offer or give someone a bribe. The act of doing so is called bribery.In most cases, this refers to the often illegal act of offering money to people in official positions, like politicians, government officials, or sports referees, in order to get them to change an outcome to be more favorable to the person offering the bribe. For example, a businessperson might bribe a senator to vote a certain way, which is of course illegal.Bribe can also refer to offering an incentive (or the incentive itself) to someone to do something, especially a child, as in I tried bribing the kids with TV time as a reward for cleaning up their room, but apparently even bribes don’t work because they didn’t do it. Example: The video clearly shows the lobbyist presenting the senator a briefcase full of money as a bribe for a favorable vote—it’s an open-and-shut case of bribery.
Other Word Forms
- bribability noun
- bribable adjective
- bribeability noun
- bribeable adjective
- bribee noun
- briber noun
- outbribe verb (used with object)
- unbribable adjective
- unbribably adverb
- unbribed adjective
- unbribing adjective
Etymology
Origin of bribe
1350–1400; Middle English < Middle French: remnant of food given as alms, said to be < an expressive base *bri ( m ) b- denoting something small
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.
He and his wife Carla Bruni face another possible trial over allegations that they tried to bribe a key prosecution witness in the Libya campaign financing case with the help of a paparazzi boss.
From Barron's
The Times identified at least 26 fairs statewide where, in the last decade, employees or appointed officials have been accused of siphoning taxpayer money, pressuring businesses for bribes or committing egregious mismanagement.
From Los Angeles Times
When the expulsion operation began, some prisoners thought they were headed to freedom, figuring their government bribes had paid off, a Mexican official said.
He said his own mother used to bribe him with Pringles to get him to take swim lessons.
From Los Angeles Times
When the debt couldn’t be repaid on time, it emerged that the money from the bonds was part of an epic fraud centered on cash bribes and secret fees.
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.
