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
Shomik Mukherjee, The Mercury News, 9 Feb. 2025
Federal prosecutors claim Thao and her boyfriend Andre Jones accepted bribes from California Waste Solutions executives David and Andy Duong in exchange for favorable treatment with their business ventures that totaled millions in city contracts.
—Barnini Chakraborty, Washington Examiner - Political News and Conservative Analysis About Congress, the President, and the Federal Government, 7 Feb. 2025
Chicago Tribune, 27 Jan. 2025
Among the many allegations of corruption in indictments filed Friday against ex-Mayor Sheng Thao is the notion she was bribed to influence the appointment of a city official who could help secure funding for Thao’s alleged co-conspirators.
—Nate Gartrell, The Mercury News, 17 Jan. 2025
See all Example Sentences for bribe 
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
show current usage.
Read More
Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors.
Send us feedback.
Noun
For his part, Taylor aims to tap the 86,000 voters who supported Thao’s recall, especially after federal prosecutors accused the ex-mayor of accepting bribes in the form of negative 2022 campaign mailers against him.
—Shomik Mukherjee, The Mercury News, 9 Feb. 2025
Federal prosecutors claim Thao and her boyfriend Andre Jones accepted bribes from California Waste Solutions executives David and Andy Duong in exchange for favorable treatment with their business ventures that totaled millions in city contracts.
—Barnini Chakraborty, Washington Examiner - Political News and Conservative Analysis About Congress, the President, and the Federal Government, 7 Feb. 2025
Verb
An attorney for Michael Madigan today repeatedly denied that the ex-House speaker ever thought utility giant ComEd was bribing him, and painted co-defendant Michael McClain as an exaggerator who would frequently use Madigan’s name to inflate his own significance.
—Chicago Tribune, 27 Jan. 2025
Among the many allegations of corruption in indictments filed Friday against ex-Mayor Sheng Thao is the notion she was bribed to influence the appointment of a city official who could help secure funding for Thao’s alleged co-conspirators.
—Nate Gartrell, The Mercury News, 17 Jan. 2025
See all Example Sentences for bribe
Articles Related to bribe
Dictionary Entries Near bribe
Cite this Entry
“Bribe.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/bribe. Accessed 16 Feb. 2025.
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
Love words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share