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
Jenny Goldsberry, The Washington Examiner, 29 June 2025
Netanyahu faces charges of fraud, breach of trust, and accepting bribes in three separate cases.
—Mandy Taheri
hannah Parry, MSNBC Newsweek, 27 June 2025
Chadd Scott, Forbes.com, 1 July 2025
Federal prosecutors argued Combs and his associates were worried about being arrested after the attack on Ventura caught on 2016 hotel surveillance cameras and sought to bribe a security guard in return for the footage.
—Aaron Katersky, ABC News, 27 June 2025
See All Example Sentences for bribe
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
show current usage.
Read More
Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors.
Send us feedback.
Noun
Linda Sun, a former aide to Gov. Kathy Hochul (D-NY), was charged earlier this week with accepting bribes from companies selling personal protective equipment during the 2020 COVID-19 pandemic.
—Jenny Goldsberry, The Washington Examiner, 29 June 2025
Netanyahu faces charges of fraud, breach of trust, and accepting bribes in three separate cases.
—Mandy Taheri
hannah Parry, MSNBC Newsweek, 27 June 2025
Verb
More millions to bribe politicians to ease child labor requirements.
—Chadd Scott, Forbes.com, 1 July 2025
Federal prosecutors argued Combs and his associates were worried about being arrested after the attack on Ventura caught on 2016 hotel surveillance cameras and sought to bribe a security guard in return for the footage.
—Aaron Katersky, ABC News, 27 June 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 8 Jul. 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
Love words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share