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
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024
How to use bribe in a sentence
At one of his rallies, Kivalov reportedly gave out packages with food items and money, which investigators construe to be bribes.
“We cannot, and will not, pay bribes to any actor,” Egeland insisted in our phone conversation.
Doctors, who were overworked and underpaid, began taking bribes to provide care.
Will US Health Care Follow in China’s Bloody Footsteps? | Daniela Drake | September 21, 2014 | THE DAILY BEASTThere are no signs of any police—why would the traffic cops bother, there is no one to fine and demand bribes from?
As the Key Battle Looms, a Report from Ukraine's Front Lines | Jamie Dettmer | August 13, 2014 | THE DAILY BEASTAnd this is so even if their money corrupts the system in ways that are more subtle than overt bribes.
The Supreme Court Has Given Us a Government Of, By, and For the 1 Percent | Geoffrey R. Stone | June 3, 2014 | THE DAILY BEAST
Thy princes are faithless, companions of thieves: they all love bribes, they run after rewards.
The Bible, Douay-Rheims Version | VariousThe opposition asserted that neither bribes nor promises were spared.
The History of England from the Accession of James II. | Thomas Babington MacaulayMessagerye and Mede represents the sending of messages and giving of bribes.
Chaucer's Works, Volume 1 (of 7) -- Romaunt of the Rose; Minor Poems | Geoffrey ChaucerThe grants were always of farms owned and occupied by adherents of the beaten party, and the bribes came from both sides.
The Private Life of the Romans | Harold Whetstone JohnstonThey were offered every inducement to desert,—heavy bribes, and promotion in a new service,—but they refused them all.
The Flag Replaced on Sumter | William A. Spicer
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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