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
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
Molly Crane-Newman, New York Daily News, 6 Mar. 2025
The bribes started at $1,000 a week in 2013 and snowballed into $10,000 bonuses and expensive gifts including an Apple MacBook, a John Deere tractor with a backhoe and loader, home bathroom fixtures and free electrical work, among other things, according to Foley’s office.
—Lance Reynolds, Boston Herald, 3 Mar. 2025
Andrea Chang, Los Angeles Times, 20 Feb. 2025
And to add insult to injury, while cutting off food aid to millions of starving Africans, Trump has suspended enforcement of the rules against Americans bribing foreign officials.
—Dan Perry, Newsweek, 19 Feb. 2025
See All Example Sentences for bribe
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Noun
Adams partly made good on the bribes by forcing the FDNY to disregard safety concerns and prematurely open a Midtown skyscraper housing Turkey’s consulate in time for a visit by Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, the case alleges.
—Molly Crane-Newman, New York Daily News, 6 Mar. 2025
The bribes started at $1,000 a week in 2013 and snowballed into $10,000 bonuses and expensive gifts including an Apple MacBook, a John Deere tractor with a backhoe and loader, home bathroom fixtures and free electrical work, among other things, according to Foley’s office.
—Lance Reynolds, Boston Herald, 3 Mar. 2025
Verb
Four years later, federal prosecutors in New York charged the company with bribing Chinese officials.
—Andrea Chang, Los Angeles Times, 20 Feb. 2025
And to add insult to injury, while cutting off food aid to millions of starving Africans, Trump has suspended enforcement of the rules against Americans bribing foreign officials.
—Dan Perry, Newsweek, 19 Feb. 2025
See All Example Sentences for bribe
Articles Related to bribe
Cite this Entry
“Bribe.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/bribe. Accessed 9 Mar. 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
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