bile

noun

\ ˈbī(-ə)l

Definition of bile

1a : either of two humors associated in old physiology with irascibility and melancholy

b : a yellow or greenish viscid alkaline fluid secreted by the liver and passed into the duodenum where it aids especially in the emulsification and absorption of fats

2a : inclination to anger

b : acrimony, vitriol

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Examples of bile in a Sentence

One writer objected to what she described as “the bile that is spewed from the newspaper's editorial page.” with considerable bile, the author recounts a childhood filled with misery and loneliness

Recent Examples on the Web

When Obama won, for a time black tongues were scraped of bitterness and bile. — Imani Perry, Time, "'I Will Not Allow That to Be Your Life.' A Mother's Letter to Her Black Sons on Growing Up in America," 17 Sep. 2019 Or that, as one of Mr. Diamond’s friends relates, workers at an Australian slaughterhouse, out of dislike for Britain, occasionally slipped a bitter-tasting, bile-laden sheep gall bladder into exports of sheep livers bound for the United Kingdom? — Brendan Simms, WSJ, "Jared Diamond’s ‘Upheaval’ Reviewed: Nations at the Turning Point," 14 June 2019 The practitioner dealt mostly with plants and relied on the ancient system called the Four Humors, which focused on bile, phlegm, and blood. — Dennis Hohenberger, courant.com, "Horticulturalist Gives History Of The Apothecary," 30 Aug. 2019 The pancreas can be pressing on the duct that clears the bile out of the liver, and therefore causes jaundice, the yellowness of the eyes. — Kristen Jordan Shamus, Detroit Free Press, "Aretha Franklin's Detroit-based doctor talks about the cancer that took her life," 16 Aug. 2019 Sun bears and Asiatic black bears are captured from forests or captive-bred so that traders can extract bile from their gallbladders. — Jani Actman, National Geographic, "How can traditional Chinese medicine threaten wildlife?," 17 June 2019 What was triggering this barrage of you’re-a-moron bile? — Jon Wertheim, SI.com, "Mailbag: In Appreciation of the Serena/Murray Doubles Team at Wimbledon," 10 July 2019 The gallbladder is a small-ish, somewhat optional organ that stores bile produced by the liver. — Kate Wehr, Good Housekeeping, "Gallstones Are the Pregnancy Complication No One Warned Me About," 18 Apr. 2019 That last bit involves strangling on the spit and bile in my mouth. — Gene Weingarten, Washington Post, "Gene Weingarten: How to deal with profound impatience? Try the Glass Bowl method.," 20 June 2019

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'bile.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

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Last Updated

20 Sep 2019

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Time Traveler for bile

The first known use of bile was in 1547

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More Definitions for bile

bile

noun

English Language Learners Definition of bile

: a yellow or greenish liquid that is made by the liver and that helps the body to digest fats

: anger or hatred

See the full definition for bile in the English Language Learners Dictionary

bile

noun

\ ˈbīl

Kids Definition of bile

: a thick bitter yellow or greenish fluid produced by the liver to aid in digestion of fats in the small intestine

bile

noun

\ ˈbī(ə)l

Medical Definition of bile

1 : a yellow or greenish viscid alkaline fluid secreted by the liver and passed into the duodenum where it aids especially in the emulsification and absorption of fats

— called also fel

2 : either of two humors associated in old physiology with irascibility and melancholy