1
: money or favor given or promised in order to influence the judgment or conduct of a person in a position of trust
police officers accused of taking bribes
2
: something that serves to induce or influence
offered the kid a bribe to finish his homework
bribed; bribing
: to influence the judgment or conduct of (someone) with or as if with offers of money or favor : to induce or influence by or as if by bribery
attempting to bribe a judge
bribing a child with candy
: to practice bribery
Synonyms
Examples of bribe in a Sentence
Noun
I offered the children a bribe for finishing their homework.
that judge refused a huge bribe to dismiss the charges against the wealthy defendant
Verb
She was arrested for attempting to bribe a judge.
They bribed him to keep quiet about the incident.
We bribed the children with candy.
Recent Examples on the Web
Staff Author, EW.com, 16 June 2024
Prosecutors say trying to intervene in criminal cases was one way Menendez tried to reward businessmen who paid him and his wife bribes of gold bars, tens of thousands of dollars in cash and a car.
—CBS News, 12 June 2024
Armando Tinoco, Deadline, 15 June 2024
Wohl, of California, and Burkman, of Virginia, were charged in 36th District Court in Detroit with bribing or intimidating voters, conspiracy to bribe or intimidate voters, and using a computer to commit a crime.
—Paul Egan, Detroit Free Press, 14 June 2024
See all Example Sentences for bribe 
Noun
Crime in Sports Sports and crime have been a winning combination for millennia — there’s even evidence that competitors in ancient Greece were offered bribes to throw the Olympic games — so this podcast, hosted by comedians Jimmie Whisman and James Pietragallo, is an absolute natural.
—Staff Author, EW.com, 16 June 2024
Prosecutors say trying to intervene in criminal cases was one way Menendez tried to reward businessmen who paid him and his wife bribes of gold bars, tens of thousands of dollars in cash and a car.
—CBS News, 12 June 2024
Verb
In Season 5, Fitzgerald accused Quinn of trying to bribe one of her clients away, which Quinn denied.
—Armando Tinoco, Deadline, 15 June 2024
Wohl, of California, and Burkman, of Virginia, were charged in 36th District Court in Detroit with bribing or intimidating voters, conspiracy to bribe or intimidate voters, and using a computer to commit a crime.
—Paul Egan, Detroit Free Press, 14 June 2024
See all Example Sentences for bribe
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'bribe.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
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Cite this Entry
“Bribe.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/bribe. Accessed 2 Jul. 2024.
Copy CitationKids Definition
bribe
1 of 2 noun
: something given or promised to a person in order to influence a decision or action dishonestly
bribe
2 of 2 verb
bribed; bribing
: to influence or try to influence by a bribe
briber
noun
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