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
Guy Lawson, Rolling Stone, 24 Mar. 2024
The charges allege Menendez and his wife, Nadine, accepted hundreds of thousands of dollars worth of bribes, including cash, furniture and gold bars, while using his power and influence to enrich and protect three New Jersey businessmen and benefit the governments of Egypt and Qatar.
—Caitlin Yilek, CBS News, 21 Mar. 2024
In September, after Senator Menendez was again charged with accepting bribes, a cascade of prominent Democrats in New Jersey began calling for the senator’s resignation.
—Tracey Tully, New York Times, 20 Mar. 2024
The phrase, popularized by Colombian drug lord Pablo Escobar, offers the grim choice of taking a bribe or being shot – a possible warning to prison staff.
—Cnn.com Wire Service, The Mercury News, 20 Feb. 2024
No evidence has emerged to prove that Joe Biden, as president or previously as vice president, abused his role or accepted bribes, though questions have arisen about the ethics surrounding the Biden family’s international business dealings.
—Stefanie Dazio and Lindsay Whitehurst, Quartz, 27 Mar. 2024
Every single coach offered a bribe had eagerly accepted the FBI’s money.
—Guy Lawson, Rolling Stone, 24 Mar. 2024
He has also been accused of accepting bribes in exchange for doing favors for the government of Qatar.
—Allison Pecorin, ABC News, 21 Mar. 2024
The probe was also dealt a blow when the special counsel investigating Hunter Biden charged a one-time FBI informant for allegedly lying about President Biden and his son accepting $5 million bribes from a Ukrainian energy company.
—Melissa Quinn, CBS News, 13 Mar. 2024
Reuters, CNN, 11 Apr. 2024
Many Ukrainian men are evading the draft by hiding at home or trying to bribe their way out of the battle.
—Democrat-Gazette Staff From Wire Reports, arkansasonline.com, 4 Apr. 2024
Two co-conspirators of former Milwaukee Public Schools board president Michael Bonds were convicted of conspiracy to defraud the United States in federal court Wednesday after attempting to conceal taxable income from the IRS and for bribing Bonds.
—Drake Bentley, Journal Sentinel, 21 Mar. 2024
Honduran vote raises fears of violence at 'key moment' for Central America
The trial offered an unusually detailed look at the way drug traffickers have become major sources of campaign financing in Latin America and have bribed security officials and politicians to operate with impunity.
—Mary Beth Sheridan, Washington Post, 8 Mar. 2024
Ten doctors, two pharmaceutical executives and two businesses have been indicted in a scheme to bribe doctors for prescriptions, U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Texas Leigha Simonton said in a news release.
—Nicole Lopez, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 23 Feb. 2024
But a fifth defendant, a former New Jersey insurance broker, pleaded guilty this month to trying to bribe the couple with the Mercedes.
—Tracey Tully, New York Times, 21 Mar. 2024
Smith is charged with offering to bribe a witness and dissuading a witness from testifying.
—Cameron MacDonald, The Mercury News, 1 Mar. 2024
Recio was accused of using payments from the two lawyers to bribe a DEA supervisor, John Costanzo, to gain access to secret records on suspects so that the attorneys could line them up as clients before they were charged with drug trafficking.
—Jay Weaver, Miami Herald, 27 Jan. 2024
Noun
Editor’s picks Sent undercover by the FBI, Blazer offered bribes to high level college basketball coaches in return for the coaches agreeing to surreptitiously steer their best prospects towards his financial advisory company.
—Guy Lawson, Rolling Stone, 24 Mar. 2024
The charges allege Menendez and his wife, Nadine, accepted hundreds of thousands of dollars worth of bribes, including cash, furniture and gold bars, while using his power and influence to enrich and protect three New Jersey businessmen and benefit the governments of Egypt and Qatar.
—Caitlin Yilek, CBS News, 21 Mar. 2024
In September, after Senator Menendez was again charged with accepting bribes, a cascade of prominent Democrats in New Jersey began calling for the senator’s resignation.
—Tracey Tully, New York Times, 20 Mar. 2024
The phrase, popularized by Colombian drug lord Pablo Escobar, offers the grim choice of taking a bribe or being shot – a possible warning to prison staff.
—Cnn.com Wire Service, The Mercury News, 20 Feb. 2024
No evidence has emerged to prove that Joe Biden, as president or previously as vice president, abused his role or accepted bribes, though questions have arisen about the ethics surrounding the Biden family’s international business dealings.
—Stefanie Dazio and Lindsay Whitehurst, Quartz, 27 Mar. 2024
Every single coach offered a bribe had eagerly accepted the FBI’s money.
—Guy Lawson, Rolling Stone, 24 Mar. 2024
He has also been accused of accepting bribes in exchange for doing favors for the government of Qatar.
—Allison Pecorin, ABC News, 21 Mar. 2024
The probe was also dealt a blow when the special counsel investigating Hunter Biden charged a one-time FBI informant for allegedly lying about President Biden and his son accepting $5 million bribes from a Ukrainian energy company.
—Melissa Quinn, CBS News, 13 Mar. 2024
Verb
She was found guilty of having bribed officials to persuade the authorities to look away, including paying $5.2 million to a senior central bank inspector, Do Thi Nhan, who was sentenced to life in prison.
—Reuters, CNN, 11 Apr. 2024
Many Ukrainian men are evading the draft by hiding at home or trying to bribe their way out of the battle.
—Democrat-Gazette Staff From Wire Reports, arkansasonline.com, 4 Apr. 2024
Two co-conspirators of former Milwaukee Public Schools board president Michael Bonds were convicted of conspiracy to defraud the United States in federal court Wednesday after attempting to conceal taxable income from the IRS and for bribing Bonds.
—Drake Bentley, Journal Sentinel, 21 Mar. 2024
Honduran vote raises fears of violence at 'key moment' for Central America
The trial offered an unusually detailed look at the way drug traffickers have become major sources of campaign financing in Latin America and have bribed security officials and politicians to operate with impunity.
—Mary Beth Sheridan, Washington Post, 8 Mar. 2024
Ten doctors, two pharmaceutical executives and two businesses have been indicted in a scheme to bribe doctors for prescriptions, U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Texas Leigha Simonton said in a news release.
—Nicole Lopez, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 23 Feb. 2024
But a fifth defendant, a former New Jersey insurance broker, pleaded guilty this month to trying to bribe the couple with the Mercedes.
—Tracey Tully, New York Times, 21 Mar. 2024
Smith is charged with offering to bribe a witness and dissuading a witness from testifying.
—Cameron MacDonald, The Mercury News, 1 Mar. 2024
Recio was accused of using payments from the two lawyers to bribe a DEA supervisor, John Costanzo, to gain access to secret records on suspects so that the attorneys could line them up as clients before they were charged with drug trafficking.
—Jay Weaver, Miami Herald, 27 Jan. 2024
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.
Word History
Etymology
Noun and Verb
Middle English, morsel given to a beggar, bribe, from Anglo-French, morsel
First Known Use
Noun
15th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1
Verb
1528, in the meaning defined at transitive sense
Time Traveler
The first known use of bribe was
in the 15th century
Articles Related to bribe
Dictionary Entries Near bribe
Cite this Entry
“Bribe.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/bribe. Accessed 16 Apr. 2024.
Copy Citation
Kids 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
Legal Definition
bribe
1 of 2 noun
: 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
2 of 2 transitive verb
bribed; bribing
: to influence (a person) by giving a bribe
More from Merriam-Webster on bribe
Nglish: Translation of bribe for Spanish Speakers
Britannica English: Translation of bribe for Arabic Speakers
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