bribe
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.
anything given or serving to persuade or induce: The children were given candy as a bribe to be good.
to give or promise a bribe to: They bribed the reporter to forget about what he had seen.
to influence or corrupt by a bribe: The judge was too honest to be bribed.
Origin of bribe
1Other words from bribe
- brib·a·ble, bribe·a·ble, adjective
- brib·a·bil·i·ty, bribe·a·bil·i·ty, noun
- brib·ee, noun
- briber, noun
- outbribe, verb (used with object), out·bribed, out·brib·ing.
- un·brib·a·ble, adjective
- un·brib·a·bly, adverb
- un·bribed, adjective
- un·brib·ing, adjective
Words Nearby bribe
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024
How to use bribe in a sentence
There’s been billions in government money unilaterally allocated to “farmers,” but the line on that has been that money is kind of a bribe so that American farmers don’t get mad about the tariffs that have been going on.
Artisanal American Cheese Was Finally on Top of the World, and Then the World Fell Apart | Jaya Saxena | October 5, 2020 | EaterThere were many organizations that didn’t pay bribes and were able to complete their work.
When Your Safety Becomes My Danger (Ep. 432) | Stephen J. Dubner | September 24, 2020 | FreakonomicsThe Office of the Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction, which performed these audits, did find that billions of dollars across all projects — though not Yahn’s specifically — had been lost to corruption and bribes.
When Your Safety Becomes My Danger (Ep. 432) | Stephen J. Dubner | September 24, 2020 | FreakonomicsShe recalled her personal experience standing up to threats and declining bribes.
How Criminal Cops Often Avoid Jail | by Andrew Ford, Asbury Park Press | September 23, 2020 | ProPublicaIt uncovered hefty bribes to get undeserving kids into college with rigged test scores or fake athletic credentials.
Lori Loughlin gets two months in prison after judge accepts plea deal in college bribery scandal | radmarya | August 21, 2020 | Fortune
Cocaine busts, tax cheats, and bribe-taking, born-again Christians: Welcome to the political scandals of 2014.
In a sense, she attempts to bribe the pastor, offering to make his church her home.
The Good Wife’s Religion Politics: Voters Have No Faith in Alicia's Atheism | Regina Lizik | November 24, 2014 | THE DAILY BEASTBut at least in Moscow, a bribe or a good connection stand you a fighting chance to get what you need.
Despite ObamaCare, US Health System Still a Complete Mess | Molly Worthen | October 11, 2014 | THE DAILY BEASTAsked if he did anything wrong, Cianci responded simply, “I was not guilty of conspiracy to take a bribe.”
Can America’s Favorite Ex-Con Mayor Win Again? | David Freedlander | June 22, 2014 | THE DAILY BEAST“I did not have enough money to bribe the judge, so I decided to become a mercenary,” Mozhayev told a local reporter.
If you knew an honourable man was to be offered a bribe to do a dishonourable act, you would feel sure he would refuse it.
God and my Neighbour | Robert BlatchfordIt throve because it came with the tempting bribe of Heaven in one hand, and the withering threat of Hell in the other.
God and my Neighbour | Robert BlatchfordFather is in a rage because I will not stay home; he offered me to-day the deed for two hundred acres as a bribe.
Tessa Wadsworth's Discipline | Jennie M. DrinkwaterHe tried to bribe us to let him go, and made us repeated offers until he reached a figure as high as ten thousand dollars.
Motor Matt's "Century" Run | Stanley R. MatthewsHe said he had sat the whole day at the Central Station watching passengers giving bribe to procure their tickets.
Third class in Indian railways | Mahatma Gandhi
British Dictionary definitions for bribe
/ (braɪb) /
to promise, offer, or give something, usually money, to (a person) to procure services or gain influence, esp illegally
a reward, such as money or favour, given or offered for this purpose
any persuasion or lure
a length of flawed or damaged cloth removed from the main piece
Origin of bribe
1Derived forms of bribe
- bribable or bribeable, adjective
- briber, noun
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
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