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
Gayla Cawley, Boston Herald, 7 Sep. 2025
Spagnuolo is very clear about supposed bribes paid by pharmaceutical companies in the context of purchases by Andis, to the tune of 5 to 8 percent, which were funneled directly into the pockets of the Menems and Karina.
—Agustino Fontevecchia, Forbes.com, 6 Sep. 2025
Jay Weaver, Miami Herald, 29 Aug. 2025
Reviewing fake CDLs experts say are sometimes issued by unscrupulous American trucking schools or bribed Mexican bureaucrats.
—Trevor Hughes, USA Today, 26 Aug. 2025
See All Example Sentences for bribe
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Noun
Turner, the last Boston city councilor to be probed by the feds, was convicted for pocketing a $1,000 bribe from an informant who claimed to be seeking a liquor license.
—Gayla Cawley, Boston Herald, 7 Sep. 2025
Spagnuolo is very clear about supposed bribes paid by pharmaceutical companies in the context of purchases by Andis, to the tune of 5 to 8 percent, which were funneled directly into the pockets of the Menems and Karina.
—Agustino Fontevecchia, Forbes.com, 6 Sep. 2025
Verb
According to court records, Recio agreed to bribe Costanzo, who was the DEA supervisor in Miami, in exchange for his providing the private investigator with confidential information about narcotics investigations.
—Jay Weaver, Miami Herald, 29 Aug. 2025
Reviewing fake CDLs experts say are sometimes issued by unscrupulous American trucking schools or bribed Mexican bureaucrats.
—Trevor Hughes, USA Today, 26 Aug. 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 11 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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