bribe
Plural: bribes
Noun
- payment made to a person in a position of trust to corrupt his judgment
- Something (usually money) given in exchange for influence or as an inducement to breaking the law.
- The act of offering or paying such a payment: an act of bribery.
- That which seduces; seduction; allurement.
Verb
Verb Forms: bribed, bribing, bribes
- To persuade someone to act dishonestly in one's favor for a gift.
- make illegal payments to in exchange for favors or influence
- To give a bribe to; specifically, to ask a person to do something against their original will, in exchange for some type of reward or relief from potential trouble.
- To gain by a bribe; to induce as by a bribe.
Examples
- I wish I could bribe the tile bag for a Q and a Z.
- She was accused of trying to bribe the jury into making false statements.
- to bribe somebody's compliance
Origin / Etymology
From Middle English bribe, from Old French briber (“go begging”), from the noun bribe (“a gift”).
Synonyms
buy, corrupt, grease one's palms, payoff, backhander, bribe, bung, coffee money, cold drink money, dash, douceur, inducement, kopi money, pay-off, payola, subornation, sweetener, tea money
Scrabble Score: 9
bribe: valid Scrabble (US) TWL Wordbribe: valid Scrabble Word in Merriam-Webster MW Dictionary
bribe: valid Scrabble Word in International Collins CSW Dictionary