bribe

noun

\ ˈbrīb

Definition of bribe

(Entry 1 of 2)

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

bribe

verb

bribed; bribing

Definition of bribe (Entry 2 of 2)

transitive verb

: 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

intransitive verb

: to practice bribery

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Other Words from bribe

Verb

bribable \ ˈbrī-bə-bəl

\ adjective

bribee \ ˌbrī-ˈbē

\ noun

briber noun

Synonyms for bribe

Synonyms: Noun

backhander
[British],
boodle,
cumshaw,
fix,
sop

Synonyms: Verb

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: Noun Nazarov further contended that Panarin escaped justice in the case by way of a bribe. — New York Times, "Rangers Star Takes Leave After Accusations He Assaulted a Woman in a Bar," 22 Feb. 2021 Citizens trudged through its labyrinthine corridors to plead for stamps and permits from bribe-seeking bureaucrats. — Declan Walsh, New York Times, "A Decade On, Silence Fills Egypt’s Field of Broken Dreams," 23 Jan. 2021 The hefty bribe had numerous components, according to prosecutors. — Janelle Lawrence, Bloomberg.com, "Ex-Harvard Coach, Parent Charged in $1.5 Million Bribe Case," 16 Nov. 2020 On the other hand, appointed West Side Democratic Rep. Derrick Smith had only been in office a few months when he was charged in federal court with taking a $7,000 bribe for a legislative favor. — Ray Long, chicagotribune.com, "Madigan no longer ‘Mr. Speaker,’ but he’s still ‘Public Official A’," 22 Jan. 2021 After serving as the area’s alderman from 1983 to 1987, he was convicted of taking a bribe from an FBI informant and served 3½ years in prison. — Mick Dumke, ProPublica, "How a Chicago Political Hangout Went From Bustling to Boarded-Up — Even After the City Promised Help," 17 Dec. 2020 Prosecutors in the complaint against Harlan Kelly said Naomi joined a 2016 Hong Kong trip that was intended as a bribe for her husband. — Megan Cassidy, SFChronicle.com, "Breed nominates Carmen Chu to be city administrator," 14 Jan. 2021 Bakalova aced the audition and won the part of Borat’s naïve 15-year-old daughter Tutar, who is brought to the U.S. to be offered to Vice President Mike Pence as a bribe. — Ramin Zahed, Los Angeles Times, "Maria Bakalova on empowerment, Rudy Giuliani and the risky business of ‘Borat’," 4 Jan. 2021 No bribe was paid, said Reid H. Weingarten, a friend of and lawyer for Mr. Lowell who confirmed his client had represented Mr. Baras in his unsuccessful efforts to avoid incarceration. — New York Times, "Trump Associates Said to Have Been Scrutinized in Suspected Pardon Scheme," 3 Dec. 2020 Recent Examples on the Web: Verb First, there's a conservatism that dismisses any kind of support for families as presumptuous right-wing social engineering, an attempt to bribe people into changing their personal preferences and intimate decisions. — Ross Douthat, Star Tribune, "Why the U.S. needs Mitt Romney's proposed reform for family benefits," 8 Feb. 2021 The complaint alleged that beginning in January 2018, Nuru and Bovis attempted to bribe an airport commissioner in order to win a bid for the right to open a restaurant at San Francisco International Airport. — Megan Cassidy, SFChronicle.com, "SF City Hall corruption probe: Second public official, plus 2 others, newly charged," 8 June 2020 That July, shortly after the session, hardline conservative activist Michael Quinn Sullivan alleged that Burrows and House Speaker Dennis Bonnen had tried to bribe him into targeting 10 fellow Republicans in primary elections. — James Barragán, Dallas News, "After targeting GOP lawmakers in elections, can Dustin Burrows find redemption in the Texas House?," 11 Dec. 2020 Robin Hayes participated in a scheme while GOP state chairman in which a wealthy insurance company magnate attempted to bribe the state insurance commissioner with $1.5 million in campaign funds in exchange for removing a top department regulator. — oregonlive, "Who did Trump pardon? Rappers, dad in college bribery scheme, kingpin involved in officer’s murder," 20 Jan. 2021 Loughlin and Giannulli were some of the most famous names wrapped up in the brazen scheme to cheat, bribe and lie in the hyper-competitive college admissions process. — Eric Levenson And Cheri Mossburg, CNN, "Lori Loughlin released from prison after 2-month sentence for college admissions scam," 28 Dec. 2020 The pair were were accused of attempting to bribe an airport commissioner, as well as a number of corruption schemes involving city resources. — Megan Cassidy, SFChronicle.com, "SF City Hall corruption probe: Second public official, plus 2 others, newly charged," 8 June 2020 From an economic perspective, the Reagan administration used U.S. taxpayer money to bribe in effect foreign countries to stay out of a trade war. — Casey B. Mulligan, National Review, "‘I am a Tariff Man’: Comparing Presidents Reagan and Trump," 19 Oct. 2020 The Chad scheme included the Chinese businessman arranging a meeting with the president of Chad, Idriss Deby, and attempting to bribe the African leader with boxes filled with $2 million in cash. — Jerry Dunleavy, Washington Examiner, "Court upholds conviction of Chinese businessman linked to Hunter Biden," 29 Dec. 2020

These 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.

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Last Updated

26 Feb 2021

Cite this Entry

“Bribe.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/bribe. Accessed 27 Feb. 2021.

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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

verb

English 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

\ ˈbrīb

Kids Definition of bribe

(Entry 1 of 2)

: something given or promised to a person in order to influence dishonestly a decision or action

bribe

verb

bribed; bribing

Kids Definition of bribe (Entry 2 of 2)

: to influence or try to influence dishonestly by giving or promising something

bribe

noun

Legal Definition of bribe

(Entry 1 of 2)

: a benefit (as money) given, promised, or offered in order to influence the judgment or conduct of a person in a position of trust (as an official or witness) — compare kickback

bribe

transitive verb

bribed; bribing

Legal Definition of bribe (Entry 2 of 2)

: to influence (a person) by giving a bribe

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