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
Ricardo Guzman, who had paid a bribe to obtain a commercial driver's license in Illinois, did not realize that a 30-pound bracket holding the truck's mudflap in place had broken loose. Alex Groth, Journal Sentinel, 14 Mar. 2024 The senator has also been accused of accepting bribes in exchange for doing favors for the government of Qatar. Aaron Katersky, ABC News, 14 Mar. 2024 The federal government also alleges that Chan helped Huizar obtain a bribe from a Chinese developer who later sought to build a 77-story skyscraper in Huizar’s district. David Zahniser, Los Angeles Times, 13 Mar. 2024 Thus far, two former law enforcement officials have accepted plea deals — one admitting to the fraud scheme, and another admitting to accepting tequila as a bribe for making traffic tickets go away — while charges remain pending for the other 12. Nate Gartrell, The Mercury News, 13 Mar. 2024 The developments where the defendants allegedly sought bribes are in all five of the city’s boroughs. CNN, 6 Feb. 2024 The first trial When the former Miami Beach executive’s trial ended in 2019, Esformes was found guilty of 20 of 26 counts, including paying bribes, receiving kickbacks, committing money laundering and obstructing justice. Jay Weaver, Miami Herald, 22 Feb. 2024 Last fall, former House Speaker Rick Johnson, R-LeRoy, was sentenced to four and half years in federal prison for accepting bribes in a marijuana corruption scheme. Detroit Free Press, 21 Feb. 2024 In that 45-minute phone interview Tuesday evening, Carnes denied trading favors or offering bribes to accomplish his clients’ aims. Mike Hendricks, Kansas City Star, 7 Feb. 2024
Verb
During the trial, one juror allegedly tried to bribe other jurors to return not-guilty verdicts, but the alleged briber was not dismissed from the case. Matthew Strauss, Pitchfork, 14 Mar. 2024 On the next round, Larry learns that Lori was able to secure a coveted tee time by bribing the starter with $50. Ethan Shanfeld, Variety, 11 Mar. 2024 Ex-Ohio Republican Party leader Matt Borges did not bribe political operative Tyler Fehrman for insider details about a campaign to block the nuclear bailout because Fehrman's employer was not harmed. Jessie Balmert, The Enquirer, 27 Feb. 2024 Two top Idaho officials Friday cautioned lobbyists against bribing or threatening lawmakers, pointing to a rise in questions about these crimes so far this legislative session. Ian Max Stevenson, Idaho Statesman, 27 Jan. 2024 Smirnov is charged with two counts of making false statement to the bureau — in essence, falsely claiming that he’d been told that President Biden and his son Hunter were bribed by a corrupt Ukrainian energy company. Andrew C. McCarthy, National Review, 23 Feb. 2024 Protect athletes from being bribed (accepting money greater than the value of services rendered or an inducement to attend or stay) by boosters or other outside third parties or taken advantage of by unscrupulous player agents. Donna Lopiano, Forbes, 18 Feb. 2024 The office charged Smith with the felonies of offering to bribe a witness and dissuading a witness from testifying. Cameron MacDonald, The Mercury News, 24 Jan. 2024 The charges that were temporarily dropped included conspiracy to make unlawful campaign contributions, conspiracy to bribe foreign officials and two other conspiracy counts. CBS News, 29 Dec. 2023

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 29 Mar. 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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