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
The Orlando Sentinel, 23 May 2026
Kickbacks and bribes are perhaps the most obvious place to start.
—Meily Perez, Miami Herald, 22 May 2026
Maven Navarro, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 20 May 2026
In addition to drug trafficking and money laundering, this mysterious criminal group has been linked to incidents where police investigators or border patrol agents were bribed, authorities said.
—Nate Gartrell, Mercury News, 20 May 2026
See All Example Sentences for bribe
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Noun
This represents one major leap in the direction of authoritarianism — the president directly raiding the public coffers to enrich cronies, not just via his corrupt business dealings and pseudo-bribes from foreign governments, but straight up getting checks from the public treasury.
—The Orlando Sentinel, 23 May 2026
Kickbacks and bribes are perhaps the most obvious place to start.
—Meily Perez, Miami Herald, 22 May 2026
Verb
Frank Sellers, a Fort Worth attorney representing Griffith, said Griffith did not bribe anyone, since Texas Bribery law requires a quid pro quo.
—Maven Navarro, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 20 May 2026
In addition to drug trafficking and money laundering, this mysterious criminal group has been linked to incidents where police investigators or border patrol agents were bribed, authorities said.
—Nate Gartrell, Mercury News, 20 May 2026
See All Example Sentences for bribe
Cite this Entry
“Bribe.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/bribe. Accessed 27 May. 2026.
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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