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
Synonyms
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
Barbara McQuade, The Mercury News, 4 Oct. 2024
Teh Cheang Wan was investigated for accepting bribes.
—Philip J. Heijmans and Alex Chandler / Bloomberg, TIME, 3 Oct. 2024
Jake Offenhartz and Karen Matthews, Los Angeles Times, 7 Oct. 2024
Scientists at House hearing refute claims they were bribed and influenced to deny Covid-19 ‘lab leak’ theory
Professor Florence Debarre, a researcher at the French National Centre for Scientific Research, discovered the data in 2023 and quickly alerted other scientists.
—Brenda Goodman, CNN, 19 Sep. 2024
See all Example Sentences for bribe 
Noun
The indictment further accuses Adams of accepting bribes in the form of luxury international travel accommodations valued at more than $100,000 from foreign nationals in exchange for favors.
—Barbara McQuade, The Mercury News, 4 Oct. 2024
Teh Cheang Wan was investigated for accepting bribes.
—Philip J. Heijmans and Alex Chandler / Bloomberg, TIME, 3 Oct. 2024
Verb
Two businessmen were later convicted of bribing police officers and other officials.
—Jake Offenhartz and Karen Matthews, Los Angeles Times, 7 Oct. 2024
Scientists at House hearing refute claims they were bribed and influenced to deny Covid-19 ‘lab leak’ theory
Professor Florence Debarre, a researcher at the French National Centre for Scientific Research, discovered the data in 2023 and quickly alerted other scientists.
—Brenda Goodman, CNN, 19 Sep. 2024
See all Example Sentences for bribe
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'bribe.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
Dictionary Entries Near bribe
Cite this Entry
“Bribe.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/bribe. Accessed 21 Oct. 2024.
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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