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bite

/bʌɪt/

noun

Meaning

  • The act of biting.

  • The wound left behind after having been bitten.

    "That snake bite really hurts!"

  • The swelling of one's skin caused by an insect's mouthparts or sting.

    "After just one night in the jungle I was covered with mosquito bites."

  • A piece of food of a size that would be produced by biting; a mouthful.

    "There were only a few bites left on the plate."

  • Something unpleasant.

    "That's really a bite!"

  • An act of plagiarism.

    "That song is a bite of my song!"

  • A small meal or snack.

    "I'll have a quick bite to quiet my stomach until dinner."

  • Aggression

  • 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.

  • A cheat; a trick; a fraud.

  • A sharper; one who cheats.

  • 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.

  • A cut, a proportion of profits; an amount of money.

Synonyms

mouthful,
snack,
sting

verb

Meaning

  • To cut into something by clamping the teeth.

    "As soon as you bite that sandwich, you'll know how good it is."

  • To hold something by clamping one's teeth.

  • To attack with the teeth.

    "That dog is about to bite!"

  • To behave aggressively; to reject advances.

    "If you see me, come and say hello. I don't bite."

  • To take hold; to establish firm contact with.

    "I needed snow chains to make the tires bite."

  • To have significant effect, often negative.

    "For homeowners with adjustable rate mortgages, rising interest will really bite."

  • (of a fish) To bite a baited hook or other lure and thus be caught.

    "Are the fish biting today?"

  • To accept something offered, often secretly or deceptively, to cause some action by the acceptor.

    "I've planted the story. Do you think they'll bite?"

  • (of an insect) To sting.

    "These mosquitoes are really biting today!"

  • To cause a smarting sensation; to have a property which causes such a sensation; to be pungent.

    "It bites like pepper or mustard."

  • (sometimes figurative) To cause sharp pain or damage to; to hurt or injure.

    "Pepper bites the mouth."

  • To cause sharp pain; to produce anguish; to hurt or injure; to have the property of so doing.

  • To take or keep a firm hold.

    "The anchor bites."

  • To take hold of; to hold fast; to adhere to.

    "The anchor bites the ground."

  • To lack quality; to be worthy of derision; to suck.

    "This music really bites."

  • To perform oral sex on. Used in invective.

    "You don't like that I sat on your car? Bite me."

  • To plagiarize, to imitate.

    "He always be biting my moves."

  • To deceive or defraud; to take in.