bribe

1 of 2

noun

1
: money or favor given or promised in order to influence the judgment or conduct of a person in a position of trust
police officers accused of taking bribes
2
: something that serves to induce or influence
offered the kid a bribe to finish his homework

bribe

2 of 2

verb

bribed; bribing

transitive verb

: to influence the judgment or conduct of (someone) with or as if with offers of money or favor : to induce or influence by or as if by bribery
attempting to bribe a judge
bribing a child with candy

intransitive verb

: to practice bribery
bribable adjective
bribee noun
briber noun

Examples of bribe in a Sentence

Noun I offered the children a bribe for finishing their homework. that judge refused a huge bribe to dismiss the charges against the wealthy defendant Verb She was arrested for attempting to bribe a judge. They bribed him to keep quiet about the incident. We bribed the children with candy.
Recent Examples on the Web
Noun
Uribe pleaded guilty in March and agreed to cooperate with prosecutors in the case against Menendez, who has pleaded not guilty and has denied accepting any bribes. Caitlin Yilek, CBS News, 10 June 2024 As the Americans pulled back from rural areas, the ALP militias became increasingly predatory, shaking down locals for bribes; their selective violence became indiscriminate, to use Kalyvas’s terms. Matthieu Aikins Victor J. Blue Peter Ganim Krish Seenivasan Steven Szczesniak, New York Times, 22 May 2024
Verb
Internal correspondence shows contractors bribing government officials with money, alcohol and other favors. Christopher K. Tong, The Conversation, 31 May 2024 He was also acquitted of tax evasion, bribing judges, and corruption—though in some instances the acquittals came after his administration changed the law such that his initial charges no longer constituted a crime. Koh Ewe, TIME, 31 May 2024 See all Example Sentences for bribe 

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'bribe.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

Etymology

Noun and Verb

Middle English, morsel given to a beggar, bribe, from Anglo-French, morsel

First Known Use

Noun

15th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Verb

1528, in the meaning defined at transitive sense

Time Traveler
The first known use of bribe was in the 15th century

Dictionary Entries Near bribe

Cite this Entry

“Bribe.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/bribe. Accessed 15 Jun. 2024.

Kids Definition

bribe

1 of 2 noun
: something given or promised to a person in order to influence a decision or action dishonestly

bribe

2 of 2 verb
bribed; bribing
: to influence or try to influence by a bribe
bribable adjective
briber noun

Legal Definition

bribe

1 of 2 noun
: a benefit (as money) given, promised, or offered in order to influence the judgment or conduct of a person in a position of trust (as an official or witness) compare kickback

bribe

2 of 2 transitive verb
bribed; bribing
: to influence (a person) by giving a bribe

More from Merriam-Webster on bribe

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