bribe
noun
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..
bribed
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past participleof bribe.past participle
A verb form used in perfect and passive verb constructions and that can also function as a modifier.
-
past tense formof bribe.past tense
Used to describe completed actions or previous habitual actions.
bribenounmoney 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..
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.
Is it true, they ask, that Jefferson bribed Trumbull to make it look that way, to show that he, Jefferson, outranked Adams?
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 4, 2026
More recently, as China assailed Japan, text messages and photos that Taiwan officials said came from the Chinese military spread the claim that Takaichi had been bribed by Taiwanese diplomats.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jan. 15, 2026
Kulibayev's lawyers told the BBC that he denied being bribed, had no involvement in awarding the contracts and has not been the subject of any investigation in Italy.
From BBC ● Jan. 8, 2026
The leader of the controversial Unification Church has denied allegations that her organisation bribed South Korea's former first lady with luxury gifts in exchange for business favours.
From BBC ● Sep. 17, 2025
He had obviously bribed Bogart with extra food and tobacco to drop his charges.
From "Long Walk to Freedom" by Nelson Mandela
