bribery
Americannoun
plural
briberiesnoun
Usage
What does bribery mean? Bribery is the act of giving money (or something else of value) to someone to get them to do something you want them to do, especially something they’re not supposed to do.In other words, bribery is the act of bribing someone—offering them a bribe.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.Bribery can also refer to the practice of offering someone an incentive to do something, especially a child, as in I tried offering the kids TV time as a reward for cleaning up their room, but apparently bribery doesn’t work because they didn’t do it. Bribery can also refer to the exchange or acceptance of a bribe, but it most commonly refers to the act of offering it.Example: The video clearly shows the lobbyist presenting the senator a briefcase full of money and asking for a favorable vote—it’s an open-and-shut case of bribery.
Etymology
Origin of bribery
1350–1400; Middle English briberie theft < Middle French: begging. See bribe, -ery
Compare meaning
How does bribery compare to similar and commonly confused words? Explore the most common comparisons:
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.
The incident prompted an investigation into alleged bribery by Uber executives and a lawsuit from the victim, although neither led to civil or criminal penalties.
From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 13, 2026
One of the reservists and a civilian were indicted on a charge of committing serious security offenses, bribery and obstruction of justice, Shin Bet said, without naming the people who were arrested.
From The Wall Street Journal • Feb. 12, 2026
It doesn’t just search for specific words; you can ask it to search for concepts like bribery.
From Slate • Feb. 4, 2026
Li, a former Everton player who led the national team from 2019 to 2021, is already serving a 20-year prison sentence for bribery, after being sentenced in December 2024.
From Barron's • Jan. 29, 2026
By means of bribery and persuasion and threats, Madame Babushkinov had finally convinced her to stop acting like a coward and get out of bed.
From "The Long-Lost Home" by Maryrose Wood
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.
