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
Arkansas Online, 29 Jan. 2026
Investigators say the players agreed to underperform in a game in exchange for bribe payments.
—Sam Crenshaw, CBS News, 29 Jan. 2026
Steve Patterson, Florida Times-Union, 5 Feb. 2026
Then, in February of last year, Coral Gables criminal defense attorney David Macey was indicted along with Pagan on charges of bribing Costanzo to obtain confidential information about drug-trafficking suspects to recruit them as potential clients for his law firm.
—Jay Weaver, Miami Herald, 31 Jan. 2026
See All Example Sentences for bribe
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Noun
The 20-month sentence imposed on Kim was a surprise after independent counsel Min Joong-ki called for a 15-year prison term on three charges, including stock price manipulation, political funding law violations and accepting bribes.
—Arkansas Online, 29 Jan. 2026
Investigators say the players agreed to underperform in a game in exchange for bribe payments.
—Sam Crenshaw, CBS News, 29 Jan. 2026
Verb
Some defendants are also accused of conspiring to bribe a civilian contractor to create fraudulent military IDs for base access.
—Steve Patterson, Florida Times-Union, 5 Feb. 2026
Then, in February of last year, Coral Gables criminal defense attorney David Macey was indicted along with Pagan on charges of bribing Costanzo to obtain confidential information about drug-trafficking suspects to recruit them as potential clients for his law firm.
—Jay Weaver, Miami Herald, 31 Jan. 2026
See All Example Sentences for bribe
Cite this Entry
“Bribe.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/bribe. Accessed 5 Feb. 2026.
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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