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
Michael Slaten, Oc Register, 11 Aug. 2025
The removal followed an indictment for allegedly taking thousands of dollars in bribes, according to NBC Washington.
—Nick Mordowanec, MSNBC Newsweek, 8 Aug. 2025
Shomik Mukherjee, Mercury News, 17 July 2025
But his first two bids for Wisconsin’s governorship failed because opponents bribed delegates at the state’s Republican nominating convention.
—Time, 16 July 2025
See All Example Sentences for bribe
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Noun
Do’s defense attorneys agreed on the amount the former supervisor took in bribes, but said the restitution should be reduced by about $66,000 for work his daughter did with Viet America Society.
—Michael Slaten, Oc Register, 11 Aug. 2025
The removal followed an indictment for allegedly taking thousands of dollars in bribes, according to NBC Washington.
—Nick Mordowanec, MSNBC Newsweek, 8 Aug. 2025
Verb
Both firms are vying to replace ABC Security, a company that has held the contract since 2018 and whose chief executive was closely tied to a central figure in the federal corruption case filed in January against Thao, her romantic partner and the businessmen accused of bribing the former mayor.
—Shomik Mukherjee, Mercury News, 17 July 2025
But his first two bids for Wisconsin’s governorship failed because opponents bribed delegates at the state’s Republican nominating convention.
—Time, 16 July 2025
See All Example Sentences for bribe
Cite this Entry
“Bribe.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/bribe. Accessed 3 Sep. 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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