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
Chase Hunter, Mercury News, 10 Feb. 2026
Do was sentenced in June 2025 to 60 months in prison after pleading guilty to federal charges of accepting more than $800,000 in bribes in exchange for diverting $10 million in pandemic relief money, mostly to a nonprofit that employed his daughter.
—Tony Saavedra, Oc Register, 7 Feb. 2026
Los Angeles Times, 11 Feb. 2026
Per capita income was just $4,000, and the government once tried to bribe me to provide more friendly coverage.
—Nicholas D. Kristof, Mercury News, 11 Feb. 2026
See All Example Sentences for bribe
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Noun
Federal prosecutors said Azevedo accepted a bribe to secure a contract for an affordable housing company in exchange for a cut of the sales.
—Chase Hunter, Mercury News, 10 Feb. 2026
Do was sentenced in June 2025 to 60 months in prison after pleading guilty to federal charges of accepting more than $800,000 in bribes in exchange for diverting $10 million in pandemic relief money, mostly to a nonprofit that employed his daughter.
—Tony Saavedra, Oc Register, 7 Feb. 2026
Verb
Even without bribing the bots to provide direct advertising, brands are already trying to find ways to get into the good books of AI search results.
—Los Angeles Times, 11 Feb. 2026
Per capita income was just $4,000, and the government once tried to bribe me to provide more friendly coverage.
—Nicholas D. Kristof, Mercury News, 11 Feb. 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 12 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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