Definitions

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

  • noun The act or practice of offering, giving, or taking a bribe.

from The Century Dictionary.

  • noun Theft; robbery; extortion; rapacity.
  • noun The act or practice of giving or taking a bribe, or of influencing or being influenced by a bribe or bribes; especially, the act of paying or receiving, or of agreeing to pay or receive, a reward other than legal compensation for the exercise of official or delegated power irrespective of the dictates of duty, or for a false judgment or testimony, or for the performance of that which is known to be illegal or unjust.

from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.

  • noun obsolete Robbery; extortion.
  • noun The act or practice of giving or taking bribes; the act of influencing the official or political action of another by corrupt inducements.
  • noun [Eng.] an oath taken by a person that he has not been bribed as to voting.

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

  • noun the making of illegal payment, or bribes, to persons in official positions as a means of influencing their decisions
  • noun law the activity of giving, offering or accepting bribes

from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.

  • noun the practice of offering something (usually money) in order to gain an illicit advantage

Etymologies

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Examples

  • Engaging in bribery is not a precondition for emerging market success.

    Even The Virtuous Can Thrive In Corrupt Countries Steven Fox 2010

  • It is ironic that the term bribery, used to describe what was happening between Washington and Tel Aviv, was first introduced by a former American official who happens to be a devout Jew.

    Daoud Kuttab: America's Latest $3 Billion Bribe to Israel Daoud Kuttab 2010

  • The term bribery was first used by former American ambassador to Israel and senior Obama adviser during his presidential campaign Dan Kurtzer, who is now affiliated with Princeton University's Woodrow Wilson School for International Studies.

    Daoud Kuttab: America's Latest $3 Billion Bribe to Israel Daoud Kuttab 2010

  • It is ironic that the term bribery, used to describe what was happening between Washington and Tel Aviv, was first introduced by a former American official who happens to be a devout Jew.

    Daoud Kuttab: America's Latest $3 Billion Bribe to Israel Daoud Kuttab 2010

  • The term bribery was first used by former American ambassador to Israel and senior Obama adviser during his presidential campaign Dan Kurtzer, who is now affiliated with Princeton University's Woodrow Wilson School for International Studies.

    Daoud Kuttab: America's Latest $3 Billion Bribe to Israel Daoud Kuttab 2010

  • The term bribery was first used by former American ambassador to Israel and senior Obama adviser during his presidential campaign Dan Kurtzer, who is now affiliated with Princeton University's Woodrow Wilson School for International Studies.

    Daoud Kuttab: America's Latest $3 Billion Bribe to Israel Daoud Kuttab 2010

  • It is ironic that the term bribery, used to describe what was happening between Washington and Tel Aviv, was first introduced by a former American official who happens to be a devout Jew.

    Daoud Kuttab: America's Latest $3 Billion Bribe to Israel Daoud Kuttab 2010

  • The excuse for this bribery is the announcement by the Social Security Administration that, for the second year in a row, seniors will not get a cost of living increase in 2011.

    Buying the Senior Vote 2010

  • Now, can you comment knowledgeably on whether bribery is a BIG problem in Mexico?

    Mexico Readies Crackdown on Bribery 2003

  • But when he had attempted to reveal the offers, which he termed bribery, something had to be done.

    Empire Clifford D. Simak 1946

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