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bile

American  
[bahyl] / baɪl /

noun

  1. Physiology. a bitter, alkaline, yellow or greenish liquid, secreted by the liver, that aids in absorption and digestion, especially of fats.

  2. ill temper; peevishness.

  3. Old Physiology. either of two humors associated with anger and gloominess.

bile 1 British  
/ bəɪl /

verb

  1. a Scot word for boil 1

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
bile 2 British  
/ baɪl /

noun

  1. 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

  2. irritability or peevishness

  3. archaic either of two bodily humours, one of which ( black bile ) was thought to cause melancholy and the other ( yellow bile ) anger

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
bile Scientific  
/ bīl /

  1. 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.

  2. ◆ Bile salts help in the emulsification, digestion, and absorption of fats.

  3. ◆ Bile pigments are waste products formed by the breakdown of hemoglobin from old red blood cells.

bile Cultural  

  1. A bitter fluid produced by the liver and stored in the gallbladder. Bile is discharged into the small intestine when needed to aid in the digestion of fats (see digestive system).

Discover More

Bile is sometimes used figuratively to denote bitterness in general: “His writing was full of bile.”

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

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.

Some cases involved vanishing bile duct syndrome, a liver condition characterized by the progressive destruction of bile ducts in the liver, the agency said.

From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 31, 2026

He added: "Sadly, nothing surprises me anymore when it comes to the bile emanating from the mouth of Reform; one wonders how much lower they might sink."

From BBC • Mar. 24, 2026

When they removed a protein called BAAT, which produces conjugated bile acids, the tumor load in mice dropped significantly.

From Science Daily • Oct. 17, 2025

To better understand these effects, the Salk team first analyzed human liver cancer biopsies to identify which bile acids were present.

From Science Daily • Oct. 17, 2025

When she vomited more green fluid, bile from her liver, they all knew it was very, very bad.

From "Charles and Emma: The Darwins' Leap of Faith" by Deborah Heiligman

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.