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
Chloe Atkins, NBC news, 1 May 2026
Prosecutors also alleged that, in return for that pressure campaign, Diamantis accepted $95,000 in bribes from Helen Zervas, an optometrist, and her fiancé, former state Democratic lawmaker Christopher Ziogas.
—Andrew Brown, Hartford Courant, 1 May 2026
Kirk Kenney, San Diego Union-Tribune, 1 May 2026
Both Zervas and Ziogas have both pleaded guilty to bribing Diamantis.
—Andrew Brown, Hartford Courant, 1 May 2026
See All Example Sentences for bribe
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Noun
Fairley also intends to plead guilty in a separate NCAA point-shaving case in the Eastern District of Pennsylvania over allegedly recruiting players who would accept bribes to influence games, the documents showed.
—Chloe Atkins, NBC news, 1 May 2026
Prosecutors also alleged that, in return for that pressure campaign, Diamantis accepted $95,000 in bribes from Helen Zervas, an optometrist, and her fiancé, former state Democratic lawmaker Christopher Ziogas.
—Andrew Brown, Hartford Courant, 1 May 2026
Verb
Back in the day, scandals typically were point-shaving schemes that involved shadowy figures bribing athletes.
—Kirk Kenney, San Diego Union-Tribune, 1 May 2026
Both Zervas and Ziogas have both pleaded guilty to bribing Diamantis.
—Andrew Brown, Hartford Courant, 1 May 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 3 May. 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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