Adjacent Words

Bribe definitions

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Webster's 1828 Dictionary

BRIBE, n.
1. A price, reward, gift or favor bestowed or promised with a view to pervert the judgment, or corrupt the conduct of a judge, witness or other person. A bribe is a consideration given or promised to a person, to induce him to decide a cause, give testimony, or perform some act contrary to what he knows to be truth, justice or rectitude. It is not used in a good sense, unless in familiar language.
2. That which seduces.
Not the bribes of sordid wealth can seduce to leave these ever blooming sweets.
BRIBE, v.t. To give or promise a reward or consideration, with a view to pervert the judgment, or corrupt the conduct. To hire for bad purposes; to purchase the decision of a judge,the testimony of a witness, or the performance of some act contrary to known truth, justice or rectitude.
1. To gain by a bribe.
In familiar language, it is sometimes used in a good sense; as, to bribe a child to take a medicine. Dryden has used the word in a good sense, in solemn language; but such use is rare, and hardly legitimate.

WordNet (r) 3.0 (2005)

n
1: payment made to a person in a position of trust to corrupt his judgment [syn: bribe, payoff] v
1: make illegal payments to in exchange for favors or influence; "This judge can be bought" [syn: bribe, corrupt, buy, grease one's palms]

Merriam Webster's

I. noun Etymology: Middle English, morsel given to a beggar, bribe, from Anglo-French, morsel Date: 15th century 1. money or favor given or promised in order to influence the judgment or conduct of a person in a position of trust 2. something that serves to induce or influence II. verb (bribed; bribing) Date: 1528 transitive verb to induce or influence by or as if by bribery intransitive verb to practice bribery • bribable adjective • bribee noun • briber noun

Oxford Reference Dictionary

v. & n. --v.tr. (often foll. by to + infin.) persuade (a person etc.) to act improperly in one's favour by a gift of money, services, etc. (bribed the guard to release the suspect). --n. money or services offered in the process of bribing. Derivatives: bribable adj. briber n. bribery n. Etymology: ME f. OF briber, brimber beg, of unkn. orig.

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Bribe Bribe, v. i. 1. To commit robbery or theft. [Obs.] 2. To give a bribe to a person; to pervert the judgment or corrupt the action of a person in a position of trust, by some gift or promise. An attempt to bribe, though unsuccessful, has been holden to be criminal, and the offender may be indicted. --Bouvier. The bard may supplicate, but cannot bribe. --Goldsmith.

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Bribe Bribe, n. [F. bribe a lump of bread, scraps, leavings of meals (that are generally given to a beggar), LL. briba scrap of bread; cf. OF. briber, brifer, to eat gluttonously, to beg, and OHG. bilibi food.] 1. A gift begged; a present. [Obs.] --Chaucer. 2. A price, reward, gift, or favor bestowed or promised with a view to prevent the judgment or corrupt the conduct of a judge, witness, voter, or other person in a position of trust. Undue reward for anything against justice is a bribe. --Hobart. 3. That which seduces; seduction; allurement. Not the bribes of sordid wealth can seduce to leave these ever?blooming sweets. --Akenside.

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Bribe Bribe, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Bribed; p. pr. & vb. n. Bribing.] 1. To rob or steal. [Obs.] --Chaucer. 2. To give or promise a reward or consideration to (a judge, juror, legislator, voter, or other person in a position of trust) with a view to prevent the judgment or corrupt the conduct; to induce or influence by a bribe; to give a bribe to. Neither is he worthy who bribes a man to vote against his conscience. --F. W. Robertson. 3. To gain by a bribe; of induce as by a bribe.

Collin's Cobuild Dictionary

(bribes, bribing, bribed) 1. A bribe is a sum of money or something valuable that one person offers or gives to another in order to persuade him or her to do something. He was being investigated for receiving bribes. N-COUNT 2. If one person bribes another, they give them a bribe. He was accused of bribing a senior bank official... The government bribed the workers to be quiet. VERB: V n, V n to-inf

Easton's Bible Dictionary

None to be taken; "for the gift maketh open eyes blind, and perverteth the cause of the righteous" (Ex. 23:8, literally rendered).

Soule's Dictionary of English Synonyms

I. n. Reward of treachery, price of corruption, corrupting gift. II. v. a. Suborn, gain by a bribe, give a bribe to.

Moby Thesaurus

Trinkgeld, approach, bait, bonus, boodle, bounty, bribe money, buy, buy off, carrot, consideration, corrupt, donative, double time, encouragement, fee, fillip, fix, get at, get to, graft, gratification, gratuity, gravy, grease, grease the palm, have, honorarium, hush money, incentive, incentive pay, incitement, inducement, instigate, interest, invitation, kickback, lagniappe, largess, liberality, lubricate, lure, oil, palm oil, pay off, payment, payoff, payola, percentage, perks, perquisite, persuasive, pourboire, premium, profit, protection, provocation, purchase, reach, reward, salve, soften up, something extra, sop, sportula, square, stimulation, stimulative, stimulus, suborn, sweeten, sweetener, sweetening, take care of, tamper with, tickle the palm, tip, whet