bribe
noun
\
Definition of bribe
(Entry 1 of 2)
bribe
verbDefinition of bribe (Entry 2 of 2)
Keep scrolling for more
Other Words from bribe
Verb
\
adjective
\
noun
Synonyms for bribe
Synonyms: Noun
backhander [British], boodle, cumshaw, fix, sop
Synonyms: Verb
buy, corrupt, have, pay off, square
Visit the Thesaurus for More
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 defendantVerb
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
Elected officials are, however, now having a much easier time getting away with accepting bribes. — Matthew Yglesias, Vox, "Brett Kavanaugh’s confirmation will delegitimize the Supreme Court — and that’s good," 5 Oct. 2018 Two former senior members of the finance police, both former members of Italian intelligence, have been charged with spying on prosecutors in exchange for bribes. — Manfred Manera, Newsweek, "Civil War in Venice as Corruption Scandal Grows," 18 July 2014 Amazon began investigating reports that some of its employees have been leaking company information in exchange for bribes, according to a report by The Wall Street Journal. — Valentina Palladino, Ars Technica, "Amazon looking into claims that employees delete bad reviews for cash," 17 Sep. 2018 Prosecutors had said the bribe money was funneled to Gary Pierce by Johnson and that Pierce tried to get the water company owner to buy him land worth at least $300,000. — Fox News, "US drops bribery case against ex-Arizona utility regulator," 8 Aug. 2018 Cohen may have collected bribes after Trump’s election. — Jonathan Chait, Daily Intelligencer, "Michael Cohen Apparently Flipping Is Extremely Bad News for Trump," 2 July 2018 Two former Detroit police officers are heading to prison for pocketing cash bribes from collision shop owners in exchange for steering business their way and warning them about law enforcement activity. — Tresa Baldas, Detroit Free Press, "Two ex-Detroit cops get prison for pocketing bribes from collision shops," 25 Apr. 2018 Cunningham's activities, which included keeping a bribe menu of prices for favors, brought added scrutiny to the power individual lawmakers could exercise over government spending decisions. — Jonathan Allen, NBC News, "Hill Republicans weigh putting pork back on the table," 9 Jan. 2018 O’Hara, on the record in his own newspaper, called the Governor a lying, mentally unstable bribe-taker, likely to end up in Butler Hospital, the Providence in-patient psychiatric facility. — Richard E. Farley, Town & Country, "The Great American Racetrack War," 9 June 2017Recent Examples on the Web: Verb
That meant these fraudulent voters were unregistered, and candidates faced an electorate that was harder to bribe. — Kelsey Piper, Vox, "Study: election reforms in Brazil might have saved children’s lives. Here’s how.," 3 Dec. 2018 The same people who thought bribing North Korea as Bill Clinton tried in the 1990s would prevent them from building nuclear weapons. — Fox News, "Steve Bannon on NATO: Trump is saying 'no more games'," 12 July 2018 If Ollie in fact bribed a recruit, then regardless of whether the disclosure injures Ollie’s reputation there is no defamation: truth is an absolute defense to defamation. — Michael Mccann, SI.com, "Breaking Down Kevin Ollie's Case Against UConn and the University's Likely Defenses," 29 June 2018 Like voters elsewhere in Latin America, Colombians are fuming about serial scandals, including revelations that Odebrecht, a Brazilian construction company that bribed politicians across the region, paid some of Mr Santos’s campaign expenses. — The Economist, "Colombia’s new president will struggle to heal his country’s divisions," 21 June 2018 Phelim McAleer and Jonathan Leaf wrote their new play based on the 1993 case Donziger vs. Chevron Corp., which seemed a major victory for environmentalists hoping to preserve Ecuador’s rain forests — until their lawyer got caught bribing judges. — Chronicle Staff Report, San Francisco Chronicle, "SF International Arts Festival opens with dance," 22 May 2018 According to the caption, the kids had to be bribed with lollipops to stay still for the pic. — refinery29.com, "Chicago Is The Mirror Image Of Saint In New Kim K Instagram," 22 May 2018 Sometimes poachers bribed park staff for information or access. — Helena Pozniak, Popular Mechanics, "The Technology That Will Finally Stop Poachers," 26 Nov. 2018 On Monday, the Department of Justice (DOJ) announced the conviction of a coal company executive and a lawyer on charges related to bribing an Alabama state lawmaker. — Megan Geuss, Ars Technica, "Coal company executive and lawyer convicted of bribing Alabama lawmaker [Updated]," 24 July 2018These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'bribe.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Keep scrolling for more
Keep scrolling for more
More Definitions for bribe
bribe
noun
English Language Learners Definition of bribe
(Entry 1 of 2)
: something valuable (such as money) that is given in order to get someone to do something
bribe
verbEnglish Language Learners Definition of bribe (Entry 2 of 2)
: to try to get someone to do something by giving or promising something valuable (such as money) : to give or offer a bribe to (someone)
See the full definition for bribe in the English Language Learners Dictionary
bribe
noun
\
Kids Definition of bribe
(Entry 1 of 2)
bribe
verbKids Definition of bribe (Entry 2 of 2)
bribe
nounLegal Definition of bribe
(Entry 1 of 2)
bribe
transitive verbLegal Definition of bribe (Entry 2 of 2)
Keep scrolling for more
Comments on bribe
What made you want to look up bribe? Please tell us where you read or heard it (including the quote, if possible).
Test Your Vocabulary
Homophone Quiz
-
- In order to judge how people felt, the senator's office hired a firm to take a
______.
Test your vocabulary with our 10-question quiz!
TAKE THE QUIZ
Test Your Knowledge - and learn some interesting things along the way.
TAKE THE QUIZLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridgedWords at Play
Ask the Editors
Word Games
-
Homophone Quiz
More/moor than/then two/too/to.
Take the quiz -
Liar, Liar Quiz
Test your knowledge of words for lies, liars, and those being lied to. In other words, everyone.
Take the quiz -
How Strong Is Your Vocabulary?
Test your vocabulary with our 10-question quiz!
Take the quiz -
SCRABBLE® Sprint
SCRABBLE® fans, sharpen your skills!
Play the game
Share bribe
Resources for bribe