bribe
Americannoun
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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..
The motorist offered the arresting officer a bribe to let him go.
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anything given or serving to persuade or induce.
The children were given candy as a bribe to be good.
verb (used with object)
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to give or promise a bribe to.
They bribed the reporter to forget about what he had seen.
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to influence or corrupt by a bribe.
The judge was too honest to be bribed.
verb (used without object)
verb
noun
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a reward, such as money or favour, given or offered for this purpose
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any persuasion or lure
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a length of flawed or damaged cloth removed from the main piece
Usage
What does bribe mean? A bribe is money or something else of value offered or given to someone to get them to do something you want them to do, especially something they’re not supposed to do.Bribe can also be used as a verb meaning to offer or give someone a bribe. The act of doing so is called bribery.In most cases, this refers to the often illegal act of offering money to people in official positions, like politicians, government officials, or sports referees, in order to get them to change an outcome to be more favorable to the person offering the bribe. For example, a businessperson might bribe a senator to vote a certain way, which is of course illegal.Bribe can also refer to offering an incentive (or the incentive itself) to someone to do something, especially a child, as in I tried bribing the kids with TV time as a reward for cleaning up their room, but apparently even bribes don’t work because they didn’t do it. Example: The video clearly shows the lobbyist presenting the senator a briefcase full of money as a bribe for a favorable vote—it’s an open-and-shut case of bribery.
Other Word Forms
- bribability noun
- bribable adjective
- bribeability noun
- bribeable adjective
- bribee noun
- briber noun
- outbribe verb (used with object)
- unbribable adjective
- unbribably adverb
- unbribed adjective
- unbribing adjective
Etymology
Origin of bribe
1350–1400; Middle English < Middle French: remnant of food given as alms, said to be < an expressive base *bri ( m ) b- denoting something small
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.
That’s true but misleading, because they essentially bribe venues to use Ticketmaster.
From Los Angeles Times • Mar. 10, 2026
Colbert described that as "a big fat bribe."
From Barron's • Mar. 2, 2026
"I wouldn't have been able to live with myself knowing that I had taken effectively a bribe."
From BBC • Jan. 15, 2026
The line wrapped around the block; inside, prospective tenants were attempting to bribe the landlord.
From The Wall Street Journal • Dec. 26, 2025
William Burns had once investigated Comstock for allegedly assisting an oil company in a scheme to bribe the Osage Tribal Council for a favorable lease, but the charge was never proven.
From "Killers of the Flower Moon" by David Grann
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.
