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
bribed; bribing
: 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
: to practice bribery
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
Antonio María Delgado, Miami Herald, 2 Sep. 2025
She also is accused of obtaining 80 million won in bribes and valuables from the Unification Church in 2022, in return for her support for the organization.
—Lim Hui Jie, CNBC, 29 Aug. 2025
Jay Weaver, Miami Herald, 29 Aug. 2025
Reviewing fake CDLs experts say are sometimes issued by unscrupulous American trucking schools or bribed Mexican bureaucrats.
—Trevor Hughes, USA Today, 26 Aug. 2025
See All Example Sentences for bribe
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Noun
According to the Cristosal report, government officials now operates with criminal logic, charging desperate relatives hefty bribes in exchange for access to information, visits, or the improvements in detention conditions.
—Antonio María Delgado, Miami Herald, 2 Sep. 2025
She also is accused of obtaining 80 million won in bribes and valuables from the Unification Church in 2022, in return for her support for the organization.
—Lim Hui Jie, CNBC, 29 Aug. 2025
Verb
According to court records, Recio agreed to bribe Costanzo, who was the DEA supervisor in Miami, in exchange for his providing the private investigator with confidential information about narcotics investigations.
—Jay Weaver, Miami Herald, 29 Aug. 2025
Reviewing fake CDLs experts say are sometimes issued by unscrupulous American trucking schools or bribed Mexican bureaucrats.
—Trevor Hughes, USA Today, 26 Aug. 2025
See All Example Sentences for bribe
Cite this Entry
“Bribe.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/bribe. Accessed 9 Sep. 2025.
Copy CitationKids 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
briber
noun
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