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
-
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
-
biting
present participle
-
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:
In fact, I’ve been known to sneak a cold bite of the tomato alla vodka beans straight from the can.
From Salon ● Nov. 5, 2026
When a bite occurs, fragile health systems, long travel distances to regional facilities and the high cost or total absence of effective antivenom mean a treatable medical emergency can quickly become fatal.
From Science Daily ● Oct. 30, 2026
“Early evening we get the professionals who want a martini and a bite after work. After midnight, we get the hungry restaurant-industry workers who want to wind down.”
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 26, 2026
The $25-billion penalty might bite Meta’s finances more than the FTC’s $5-billion fine in 2019.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 23, 2026
I’d never known a pixie to bite unless you were holding a big chunk of gold.
From "Rump: The (Fairly) True Story of Rumpelstilskin" by Liesl Shurtliff
However, Williams advised people to try not to itch bites as they could become infected, and said antihistamine tablets and emollient creams could help.
From BBC ● Oct. 30, 2026
A scientist has chosen to sleep with bedbugs for the past five years - and says the bites "don't bother him at all".
From BBC ● Oct. 30, 2026
You can call it logic or you can call it hubris, but reality bites.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 13, 2026
They’re also turning to social media to commiserate over their collections of mosquito bites.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 9, 2026
I hid it in the fridge like Agnes said to, so this morning for breakfast I scrambled it and Mom, Dad, and I each had two bites.
From "Unusual Chickens for the Exceptional Poultry Farmer" by Kelly Jones
“The logic that you get some work experience to get a little bit of credibility before you start a business is starting to change.”
From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 9, 2026
Hailstone said Devon was "a bit of a stronghold for dormice" because "there is such a strong hedge network".
From BBC ● Nov. 8, 2026
"The waiting is a little bit nerve-wracking because you want them to just call it," he said, making clear his preference for Colom to win.
From Barron's ● Nov. 8, 2026
For many, a cup of tea is a simple daily ritual, but there’s actually a group of people that takes it a bit more seriously.
From Slate ● Nov. 8, 2026
Bit by bit, the map of the brain grows more detailed and more localized.
From "Phineas Gage" by John Fleischman
Over half of the countries where venomous snakes pose a threat don’t keep count of how many people are bitten or envenomed.
From Science Daily ● Oct. 30, 2026
That same evening, officers found a coyote in the area where the child was bitten, trapped it and euthanized it.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 19, 2026
"Programming without electricity or an internet connection is a problem... you can either come here to play or stay behind during a blackout, get bitten by mosquitoes, and catch dengue," he said.
From Barron's ● Oct. 13, 2026
Donald worked as landscape gardener before suffering from a stroke and later contracting Lyme disease after being bitten by a tick.
From BBC ● Oct. 7, 2026
His clawed arm and bitten leg screamed in pain, but he made it up.
From "Two Degrees" by Alan Gratz
The animal has red eyes and a short proboscis equipped with claws that help it grab food before biting.
From Science Daily ● Sep. 25, 2026
To distract the dog from biting them, they said, they fed it cereal they’d taken from a neighboring house where Yakeschi’s aunt lived.
From Slate ● Sep. 17, 2026
You can cat-proof them by wrapping them in no-chew, bitter-tasting bandages, which veterinary clinics use to prevent animals from biting them off.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 11, 2026
"I was so tired and there were so many of them and I wanted to have a complete meltdown and just cry, but I couldn't because if I stopped moving, they started biting me," she says.
From BBC ● Sep. 9, 2026
The pointed side had a jagged edge for biting.
From "Caterpillar Summer" by Gillian McDunn
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