Definitions

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.

  • intransitive verb To cut, grip, or tear with or as if with the teeth.
  • intransitive verb To pierce the skin of with the teeth, fangs, or mouthparts.
  • intransitive verb To sting with a stinger.
  • intransitive verb To cut into with or as if with a sharp instrument.
  • intransitive verb To grip, grab, or seize.
  • intransitive verb To eat into; corrode.
  • intransitive verb To cause to sting or be painful.
  • intransitive verb To grip, cut into, or injure something with or as if with the teeth.
  • intransitive verb To have a stinging effect.
  • intransitive verb To have a sharp taste.
  • intransitive verb To take or swallow bait.
  • intransitive verb To be taken in by a ploy or deception.
  • intransitive verb Vulgar Slang To be highly disagreeable or annoying.
  • noun The act of biting.
  • noun A skin wound or puncture produced by an animal's teeth or mouthparts.
  • noun A stinging or smarting sensation.
  • noun An incisive, penetrating quality.
  • noun An amount removed by or as if by an act of biting.
  • noun An excerpt or fragment taken from something larger, such as a film.
  • noun An amount of food taken into the mouth at one time; a mouthful.
  • noun Informal A light meal or snack.
  • noun The act or an instance of taking bait.
  • noun A secure grip or hold applied by a tool or machine upon a working surface.
  • noun The part of a tool or machine that presses against and maintains a firm hold on a working surface.
  • noun Dentistry The angle at which the upper and lower teeth meet; occlusion.
  • noun The corrosive action of acid upon an etcher's metal plate.
  • noun Slang An amount of money appropriated or withheld.
  • 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) To face a painful situation bravely and stoically.
  • idiom (bite the dust) To fall dead, especially in combat.
  • idiom (bite the dust) To be defeated.
  • idiom (bite the dust) To come to an end.
  • idiom (bite the hand that feeds (one)) To repay generosity or kindness with ingratitude and injury.

from The Century Dictionary.

  • 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.

Etymologies

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition

[Middle English biten, from Old English bītan; see bheid- in Indo-European roots.]

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License

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").

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Examples

  • "Besides, we ain't goin 'to bite off only just a little _bit_ of a _bite_!

    Heart's Desire Emerson Hough 1890

  • 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? 2009

  • 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? 2009

  • The danger from the bite is the an allergic reaction and the swelling of soft tissues which may interfere with your breathing.

    Alacran 2005

  • The danger from the bite is the an allergic reaction and the swelling of soft tissues which may interfere with your breathing.

    Alacran 2005

  • The danger from the bite is the an allergic reaction and the swelling of soft tissues which may interfere with your breathing.

    Alacran 2005

  • The danger from the bite is the an allergic reaction and the swelling of soft tissues which may interfere with your breathing.

    Alacran 2005

  • The danger from the bite is the an allergic reaction and the swelling of soft tissues which may interfere with your breathing.

    Alacran 2005

  • The danger from the bite is the an allergic reaction and the swelling of soft tissues which may interfere with your breathing.

    Alacran 2005

  • The danger from the bite is the an allergic reaction and the swelling of soft tissues which may interfere with your breathing.

    Alacran 2005

Comments

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  • In hip-hop parlance

    transitive verb

    to plagiarize, typically in reference to a hip-hop artist stealing another hip-hop artist's lyrics.

    February 24, 2008