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:
They crunch into every flavor of Wingstop and rack up millions of views; they clean Korean fried chicken drums in one fell bite, without leaving a trace of meat on the bone.
From Slate ● Aug. 24, 2026
The meat was packed with beefy, buttery and umami flavors, without the iron bite of other steaks.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 22, 2026
Happy to bite the hand that feeds, Bailey used the cash to launch a campaign demanding that they make their meetings public.
From BBC ● Aug. 19, 2026
“It just came back to bite them very hard,” he said.
From MarketWatch ● Aug. 19, 2026
It hit Chitto as he chewed, turning his bite rubbery: he didn’t just need to consider something about himself.
From "Legendary Frybread Drive-In" by Cynthia Leitich Smith
West Nile virus survives in nature in several types of birds and is transmitted to humans by the bites of mosquitoes that feed on infected birds.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 21, 2026
The courses begin with three savory bites before transitioning into full-fledged desserts, including a deconstructed version of her signature multilayered mousse cake, with flavors of brown rice and pecan praline.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 19, 2026
"It was just a lovely wholesome time of Cambridge sightseeing and pubs, and now it is tarnished by these bedbug bites," she said.
From BBC ● Aug. 8, 2026
"We have a sandbox he loves, and it's really hard to enjoy the space because we just get annihilated with mosquito bites," she said.
From Barron's ● Aug. 7, 2026
Every time Mama dabbed one of the bites with peroxide I would have a dancing fit.
From "Summer of the Monkeys" by Wilson Rawls
With all the data available after the race, we fine-tuned a little bit the set-up around that new spec.
From BBC ● Aug. 25, 2026
“If my wife finds out, I will be in serious trouble,” said Yoon, who says he confessed only to a bit of bad luck without giving details.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 25, 2026
As they continued into their first set of songs, it became apparent that the volume on their microphones was a bit low, leaving lyrics drowned in the rest of the mix.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 24, 2026
Historically, chicken was a bit of an afterthought in fast food.
From Slate ● Aug. 24, 2026
I look at Grandma, and she, too, isn’t the least bit concerned about the heights that the kids are reaching.
From "Split the Sky" by Marie Arnold
The Chargers were bitten by the injury bug Tuesday during a joint practice with the San Francisco 49ers in El Segundo.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 18, 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
Incidents of sharks biting humans are incredibly rare, but at least three influencers have been bitten by the animals in less than a year.
From BBC ● Aug. 15, 2026
While rarely fatal, Lyme disease can cause rashes and flu-like symptoms among people who are bitten by an infected tick, and in some cases neurological problems.
From Barron's ● Aug. 14, 2026
‘Sound the crumpets! I is bitten by a septicous venomsome vindscreen viper!’
From "The BFG" by Roald Dahl
Matt Johnson’s funny, biting biopic of the future star chef is stuffed with the teen wastrel’s blood and vomit.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 11, 2026
"Over the course of two hours, the Moon will be biting chunks out of the Sun as it moves across in front of it, blocking the light out."
From BBC ● Aug. 10, 2026
The bacteria itself blocks transmission of diseases such as dengue, Zika and chikungunya, so "you will still have mosquitoes biting people, but they will not transmit disease."
From Barron's ● Aug. 7, 2026
During a gala Friday celebrating press freedom, President Trump finally got to deliver the biting speech he had long teased.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 25, 2026
The morning was purplish, dark, and still, with the sharp, biting cold that had settled during the night.
From Anya and the Nightingale by Sofiya Pasternack
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.
