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
Jay Weaver, Miami Herald, 15 Dec. 2025
Lopez was convicted in 2023 of conspiring to pay millions in bribes to secure broadcast rights for South American soccer tournaments, while Full Play was accused of coordinating and facilitating the bribes on behalf of broadcasters.
—Alia Shoaib, MSNBC Newsweek, 11 Dec. 2025
Jay Weaver
december 4, Miami Herald, 4 Dec. 2025
Allegations that Tran bribed a witness have jeopardized a series of murder cases in Oakland, led several high-ranking police leaders to be disciplined and leveled a blow to OPD’s timeline for exiting oversight.
—Shomik Mukherjee, Mercury News, 25 Nov. 2025
See All Example Sentences for bribe
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Noun
An Atlanta businessman who paid millions in bribes to an executive for the charity arm of Miami-Dade County’s public hospital system was sentenced Monday to one year and nine months in prison — thanks to his cooperation with federal authorities early on in the fraud investigation.
—Jay Weaver, Miami Herald, 15 Dec. 2025
Lopez was convicted in 2023 of conspiring to pay millions in bribes to secure broadcast rights for South American soccer tournaments, while Full Play was accused of coordinating and facilitating the bribes on behalf of broadcasters.
—Alia Shoaib, MSNBC Newsweek, 11 Dec. 2025
Verb
Zaglin and Marchena were accused of conspiring to bribe Honduran government officials, including Francisco Roberto Cosenza Centeno, the former executive director of the Honduran government entity known as TASA.
—Jay Weaver
december 4, Miami Herald, 4 Dec. 2025
Allegations that Tran bribed a witness have jeopardized a series of murder cases in Oakland, led several high-ranking police leaders to be disciplined and leveled a blow to OPD’s timeline for exiting oversight.
—Shomik Mukherjee, Mercury News, 25 Nov. 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 19 Dec. 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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