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bite

1 syllable · also bit, bitten

Quick answer

As a verb, bite means cut into something by clamping the teeth. As a noun, it means the act of biting.

Meanings of bite

42 meanings

To cut into something by clamping the teeth.
“As soon as you bite that sandwich, you'll know how good it is.”
To hold something by clamping one's teeth.
To attack with the teeth.
“That dog is about to bite!”
To behave aggressively; to reject advances.
“If you see me, come and say hello. I don't bite.”
To take hold; to establish firm contact with.
“I needed snow chains to make the tires bite.”
To have significant effect, often negative.
“For homeowners with adjustable rate mortgages, rising interest will really bite.”
of a fishTo bite a baited hook or other lure and thus be caught.
“Are the fish biting today?”
metaphorTo accept something offered, often secretly or deceptively, to cause some action by the acceptor.
“I've planted the story. Do you think they'll bite?”
of an insectTo sting.
“These mosquitoes are really biting today!”
To cause a smarting sensation; to have a property which causes such a sensation; to be pungent.
“It bites like pepper or mustard.”
sometimes figurativeTo cause sharp pain or damage to; to hurt or injure.
“Pepper bites the mouth.”
To cause sharp pain; to produce anguish; to hurt or injure; to have the property of so doing.
To take or keep a firm hold.
“The anchor bites.”
To take hold of; to hold fast; to adhere to.
“The anchor bites the ground.”

Older and rare meanings (1)

The act of biting.
The wound left behind after having been bitten.
“That snake bite really hurts!”
The swelling of one's skin caused by an insect's mouthparts or sting.
“After just one night in the jungle I was covered with mosquito bites.”
A piece of food of a size that would be produced by biting; a mouthful.
“There were only a few bites left on the plate.”
slangSomething unpleasant.
“That's really a bite!”
slangAn act of plagiarism.
“That song is a bite of my song!”
A small meal or snack.
“I'll have a quick bite to quiet my stomach until dinner.”
figurativelyAggression
The hold which the short end of a lever has upon the thing to be lifted, or the hold which one part of a machine has upon another.
printingA blank on the edge or corner of a page, owing to a portion of the frisket, or something else, intervening between the type and paper.
slangA cut, a proportion of profits; an amount of money.
A wound resulting from biting by an animal or a person
A small amount of solid food; a mouthfulfood
“all they had left was a bit of bread”
Similar: morsel, bit
A painful wound caused by the thrust of an insect's stinger into skin
Similar: sting, insect bite