Definitions
American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
- v. To cut, grip, or tear with or as if with the teeth.
- v. To pierce the skin of with the teeth, fangs, or mouthparts.
- v. To sting with a stinger.
- v. To cut into with or as if with a sharp instrument: The ax bit the log deeply.
- v. To grip, grab, or seize: bald treads that couldn't bite the icy road; bitten by a sudden desire to travel.
- v. To eat into; corrode.
- v. To cause to sting or be painful: cold that bites the skin; a conscience bitten by remorse.
- v. To grip, cut into, or injure something with or as if with the teeth.
- v. To have a stinging effect.
- v. To have a sharp taste.
- v. To take or swallow bait.
- v. To be taken in by a ploy or deception: tried to sell the Brooklyn Bridge, but no one bit.
- v. Vulgar Slang To be highly disagreeable or annoying.
- n. The act of biting.
- n. A skin wound or puncture produced by an animal's teeth or mouthparts: the bite of an insect.
- n. A stinging or smarting sensation.
- n. An incisive, penetrating quality: the bite of satire.
- n. An amount removed by or as if by an act of biting: Rezoning took a bite out of the town's residential area.
- n. An excerpt or fragment taken from something larger, such as a film.
- n. An amount of food taken into the mouth at one time; a mouthful.
- n. Informal A light meal or snack.
- n. The act or an instance of taking bait: fished all day without a bite; an ad that got a few bites but no final sales.
- n. A secure grip or hold applied by a tool or machine upon a working surface.
- n. The part of a tool or machine that presses against and maintains a firm hold on a working surface.
- n. Dentistry The angle at which the upper and lower teeth meet; occlusion.
- n. The corrosive action of acid upon an etcher's metal plate.
- n. Slang An amount of money appropriated or withheld: trying to avoid the tax bite.
- idiom. bite off more than (one) can chew To decide or agree to do more than one can finally accomplish.
- idiom. bite (someone's) head off To respond to a comment in an angry or reproachful way.
- idiom. bite the bullet Slang To face a painful situation bravely and stoically.
- idiom. bite the dust Slang To fall dead, especially in combat.
- idiom. bite the dust Slang To be defeated.
- idiom. bite the dust Slang To come to an end.
- idiom. bite the hand that feeds (one) To repay generosity or kindness with ingratitude and injury.
Century Dictionary and Cyclopedia
- To cut, pierce, or divide with the teeth: as, to bite an apple.
- To remove with the teeth; cut away by biting: with off, out, etc.: as, to bite off a piece of an apple, or bite a piece out of it; to bite off one's nose to spite one's face.
- To grasp or grip with the teeth; press the teeth strongly upon: as, to bite the thumb or lip. (See phrases below.)
- To sting, as an insect: as, to be bitten by a flea.
- To cause a sharp or smarting pain in; cause to smart: as, pepper bites the mouth.
- To nip, as with frost; blast, blight, or injure.
- To take fast hold of; grip or catch into or on, so as to act with effect; get purchase from, as by friction: as, the anchor bites the ground; the file bites the iron; the wheels bite the rails.
- In etching, to corrode or eat into with aquafortis or other mordant, as a metal surface that has been laid bare with an etching-needle: often with in: as, the plate is now bitten in.
- To cheat; trick; deceive; overreach: now only in the past participle: as, the biter was bit.
- Synonyms See eat.
- To have a habit of biting or snapping at persons or things: as, a dog that bites; a biting horse.
- To pierce, sting, or inflict injury by biting, literally or figuratively.
- To take a bait, as a fish: either literally or figuratively.
- To take and keep hold; grip or catch into another object, so as to act on it with effect, obtain purchase or leverage-power from it, and the like: as, the anchor bites; cog-wheels bite when the teeth of one enter into the notches of the other and cause it to revolve.
- To repress one's thoughts, or restrain one's feelings.
- n. The act of cutting, piercing, or wounding with the teeth or as with the teeth: as, the bite of a dog; the bite of a crab.
- n. The seizing of bait by a fish: as, waiting for a bite.
- n. A wound made by the teeth of an animal or by any of the biting, piercing, or stinging organs of the lower animals: as, a dog's bite; a mosquito-bite; a flea-bite.
- n. As much as is taken at once by biting; a mouthful: as, a bite of bread.
- n. Food; victuals: as, three days without either bite or sup.
- n. The catch or hold that one object or one part of a mechanical apparatus has on another; specifically, in a file, the roughness or power of abrasion: as, the bite of an anchor on the ground; the bite of the wheels of a locomotive on the rails.
- n. In etching, the corrosion effected by the acid.
- n. In printing, an imperfection in a printed sheet caused by part of the impression being received on the frisket or paper mask.
- n. 9. A cheat; a trick; a fraud.
- n. A sharper; one who cheats.
Wiktionary
- v. transitive To cut off a piece by clamping the teeth.
- v. transitive To hold something by clamping one’s teeth.
- v. intransitive To attack with the teeth.
- v. intransitive To behave aggressively; to reject advances.
- v. intransitive To take hold; to establish firm contact with.
- v. intransitive To have significant effect, often negative.
- v. intransitive, of a fish To bite a baited hook or other lure and thus be caught.
- v. intransitive, metaphor To accept something offered, often secretly or deceptively, to cause some action by the acceptor.
- v. intransitive, transitive, of an insect To sting.
- v. intransitive, slang To lack quality; to be worthy of derision; to suck.
- v. transitive, informal, vulgar To perform oral sex on. Used in invective.
- v. intransitive, African American Vernacular, slang To plagiarize, to imitate.
- n. The act of biting.
- n. The wound left behind after having been bitten.
- n. The swelling of one's skin caused by an insect's mouthparts or sting.
- n. A piece of food of a size that would be produced by biting; a mouthful.
- n. slang Something unpleasant.
- n. slang An act of plagiarism.
- n. A small meal or snack.
- n. figuratively aggression
- n. The hold which the short end of a lever has upon the thing to be lifted, or the hold which one part of a machine has upon another.
- n. colloquial, dated A cheat; a trick; a fraud.
- n. colloquial, dated, slang A sharper; one who cheats.
- n. printing A blank on the edge or corner of a page, owing to a portion of the frisket, or something else, intervening between the type and paper.
GNU Webster's 1913
- v. To seize with the teeth, so that they enter or nip the thing seized; to lacerate, crush, or wound with the teeth.
- v. To puncture, abrade, or sting with an organ (of some insects) used in taking food.
- v. To cause sharp pain, or smarting, to; to hurt or injure, in a literal or a figurative sense.
- v. colloq. To cheat; to trick; to take in.
- v. To take hold of; to hold fast; to adhere to.
- v. To seize something forcibly with the teeth; to wound with the teeth; to have the habit of so doing; as, does the dog
bite ? - v. To cause a smarting sensation; to have a property which causes such a sensation; to be pungent.
- v. To cause sharp pain; to produce anguish; to hurt or injure; to have the property of so doing.
- v. To take a bait into the mouth, as a fish does; hence, to take a tempting offer.
- v. To take or keep a firm hold.
- n. The act of seizing with the teeth or mouth; the act of wounding or separating with the teeth or mouth; a seizure with the teeth or mouth, as of a bait.
- n. The act of puncturing or abrading with an organ for taking food, as is done by some insects.
- n. The wound made by biting.
- n. A morsel; as much as is taken at once by biting.
- n. The hold which the short end of a lever has upon the thing to be lifted, or the hold which one part of a machine has upon another.
- n. colloq. A cheat; a trick; a fraud.
- n. Slang A sharper; one who cheats.
- n. (Print.) A blank on the edge or corner of a page, owing to a portion of the frisket, or something else, intervening between the type and paper.
WordNet 3.0
- v. deliver a sting to
- n. wit having a sharp and caustic quality
- v. to grip, cut off, or tear with or as if with the teeth or jaws
- n. a portion removed from the whole
- v. cause a sharp or stinging pain or discomfort
- n. the act of gripping or chewing off with the teeth and jaws
- v. penetrate or cut, as with a knife
- n. (angling) an instance of a fish taking the bait
- n. a painful wound caused by the thrust of an insect's stinger into skin
- n. a wound resulting from biting by an animal or a person
- n. a small amount of solid food; a mouthful
- n. a strong odor or taste property
- n. a light informal meal
Etymologies
- From Old English bītan, from Proto-Germanic *bītanan, from Proto-Indo-European *bʰeyd- (“to split”). Cognates include Old Norse bíta (Danish bide), Gothic 𐌱𐌴𐌹𐍄𐌰𐌽 (beitan), German beißen, Ancient Greek φείδομαι (feídomai), Sanskrit भिद् (bhid, "to break"), Latin findo ("split"). (Wiktionary)
- Middle English biten, from Old English bītan; see bheid- in Indo-European roots. (American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition)
Examples
“Besides, we ain't goin 'to bite off only just a little _bit_ of a _bite_!”
“My go to lure when I am looking for a bite is a 4inch zoom finese worm texas rigged.”
what is the best bass lure that has gotten more hitts than any other for you throughout the years?
“The danger from the bite is the an allergic reaction and the swelling of soft tissues which may interfere with your breathing.”
“BLITZER: Let me play a sound bite from a Hispanic activist in Dallas who says she's a Hillary Clinton supporter, a woman by the name of Adelfa Callejo, who made some controversial comments this week.”
“Assuming no prior knowledge in the subject, Yule presents information in short, bite-sized sections, introducing the major concepts in language study - from how children learn language to why men and women speak differently, through all the key elements of language.”
“It's delivers 100 ideas for making life more efficient, all delivered in short, bite-sized chapters.”
“Their online messaging service - which encourages people to share their thoughts with the world in short, bite-sized morsels - has rocketed into the public consciousness over the past year.”
Media news, UK and world media comment and analysis | guardian.co.uk
“The word has bite, deep-down bite, which is why the Obama team is using the elder-garb flap as an opportunity to turn the word against Hillary.”
“Our laws must bite, that is the only language that the criminals will understand.”
“There's a theory in political campaigns called bite sized achievements.”
Lists
These user-created lists contain the word ‘bite’.
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The Pasta Master
My favourite is potato
gnocchi,interesting that lists
devoted to pasta exclusively
missed pasta puttanesca,those who
really textually mine dictionaries
would not miss...manicotti, spaggers, stelline, spaghettini, spag, linguine, fettuccine, penne, rigatoni, mezzani, zita, spaghetti and 391 more...
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cricket
everything cricket
backlift, bail, batsman, batsmen, batswoman, batswomen, beamer, blockhole, bodyline, bosie, bouncer, boundary and 471 more...
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Thievery
synonymous with steal.
pinch, lift, pilfer, appropriate, bilk, abscond, burgle, usurp, purloin, shoplift, bite, five finger discount and 38 more...
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Stuffie: Love
Love and all that stuff.
puppy, triangle, tough, first, in the third degree, handles, endless, bite, shack, bird, potion, tainted and 29 more...
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Verbs
edit, delete, get, take, abide, be, catch, wash, watch, fly, eat, sleep and 33 more...
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Words that hurt
A collection of words that inflict pain. If you liked this, check out http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lunch_Money_(game)
jab, headbutt, headlock, choke, elbow, grab, kick, slap, roundhouse, spinning backfist, stomp, uppercut and 40 more...
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Bite me
bite, bitewing, biteplate, backbite, checkbite, biter, exhibited, sound bite, snakebite, rat-bite fever, overbite, debited and 32 more...
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sort of sexy
pressure, press, urgency, squeezing, influence, compel, push, tease, thrust, full, drive, urge on and 99 more...
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him and i
peach, left, alone, abandon, horid, gay, bloody, beautiful, outside, inside, confused, unconditional and 111 more...
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strangelyrouge's Words
glockenspiel, gewgaw, jetsam, flotsam, gripe, grab, wench, whilst, betwixt, hither, thither, yonder and 1034 more...
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eggplantia5's Words
scintillate, marvel, cranberry, oscillate, triumph, bamboozle, grimace, magical, book, hexagon, cipher, compendium and 2727 more...
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Two years
Okay, I admit it. I made a list of words my daughter knew when she was two years old.
bat, baba, a, abalone, about, acorn, adrienne, after, again, airplane, alison, all and 694 more...
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Basic English Vocabulary
Very basic words for ESL students.
a, abandon, ability, able, abortion, about, above, abroad, absence, absolute, absolutely, absorb and 4334 more...
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my dictionary
able, abnormally, abroad, absent, abstract, acceptable, acceptance, access, accessible, accession, according to, account and 4551 more...
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The "dark" things
grave, dead, death, die, died, dies, murder, murdered, murderer, murders, murdering, murderous and 115 more...
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My Dogs' Words
treat, potty, outside, mommie, mommielina, mommierenee, kisses, yes, no, love, sit, down and 186 more...
Tweets
Looking for tweets for bite.

treeseed In hip-hop parlance
transitive verb
to plagiarize, typically in reference to a hip-hop artist stealing another hip-hop artist's lyrics. Feb 24, 2008