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:
Some buyers, set on keeping an EV, have decided to bite the bullet.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 8, 2026
It gave Infantino the chance to bite back, saying Fifa would "no longer tolerate any attacks on its integrity, good governance and due process".
From BBC ● Aug. 7, 2026
He's not up to mischief: these are males that don't bite, and they carry a gut bacteria called Wolbachia, which means when they mate with uninfected females, the eggs won't hatch.
From Barron's ● Aug. 7, 2026
The bite, it turns out, was less a culmination than an exit cue.
From Salon ● Aug. 5, 2026
“You’re forgiven,” I said, popping a bite of the cake into my own mouth.
From "Glitch" by Laura Martin
She said: "I would never expect this in Cambridge of all places. I am just hoping these bites will go as soon as possible and I will look normal and get on with my life."
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
On paper, it’s easy to dismiss it as another celebrity chef event, many of which have become exercises in exclusivity — expensive tickets, buzzy names and Instagrammable bites.
From Salon ● Aug. 6, 2026
Their venom and bites evolved to subdue prey that is far smaller than a human.
From Science Daily ● Aug. 4, 2026
Her stomach growled, the two bites of pineapple bun long forgotten, but maybe she could talk to Rishi before she made dinner.
From "Caterpillar Summer" by Gillian McDunn
Longer-range forecasts are always subject to change but there may be a little bit more into next week - but the amount of rain in any location may still be highly variable.
From BBC ● Aug. 11, 2026
“I felt a bit like a cave man who found fire,” said Koss, who is based in Zug, Switzerland.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 10, 2026
Sometimes when I get scenes that are a bit more difficult, I wake up and I wonder if I can do it.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 10, 2026
One detective told the filmmakers that there had been a lot of media interest and admitted: "We're kind of a wee bit on the back foot".
From BBC ● Aug. 10, 2026
All day I kept my eyes fixed on that bit of heaven.
From "The Hiding Place" by Corrie ten Boom
Other damaged bones may have been bitten by different predators or scavengers living in the region at the time, including other carnivorous dinosaurs and crocodilians.
From Science Daily ● Aug. 5, 2026
In Northern California, an Idaho man visiting his family in Butte County survived after being bitten twice and hospitalized for 12 days.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 5, 2026
But we can do more than sit back and get bitten.
From Slate ● Aug. 4, 2026
Any comic book fan knows that Spider-Man's secret identity is Peter Parker, a science nerd who gained superhero powers after being bitten by a radioactive spider.
From BBC ● Jul. 31, 2026
Then he made me stand there while he chewed the piece he’d bitten off.
From "The Cruel Prince" by Holly Black
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
The ire stems from a biting 4,200-word takedown of “The Odyssey” penned by classicist Wilson, who translated Homer’s poem in 2017.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 31, 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
Still a child, Adrian looks off into the distance, biting his gelato spoon while registering the information.
From Salon ● Jul. 24, 2026
“Okay, fine—we’ll get our attorneys to find the loopholes,” Dad said, biting off his words.
From "The School for Whatnots" by Margaret Peterson Haddix
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.
