Bail

/beɪl/ name, noun, verb, slang

name, noun, verb, slang ·Common ·High school level

Meaning at a glance

  • Primary sense: Security, usually a sum of money, exchanged for the release of an arrested person as a guarantee of that person's appearance for trial.
  • Grammar: bail is listed as name, noun, verb, slang.
  • Nearest alternatives: bond, abandon, arraignment, bail bond.
  • Useful contrasts: commit, confine, custody.
  • Usage evidence: It's so typical of him to bail out at the last minute.

How to use "bail"

  1. Start with the primary definition, then check the part of speech before placing the word in a sentence.
  2. Compare nearby synonyms to make sure "bail" carries the exact meaning, tone, and strength you need.
  3. Use the example sentence as a context check. If your sentence uses the word differently, confirm that the grammar still fits.

Meaning check

  • Does the word fit the sentence's grammar?
  • Does it match the intended tone rather than only the dictionary definition?
  • Would a simpler synonym be clearer for the reader?
  • Is there enough surrounding context to prevent ambiguity?

Source and review context

This entry combines structured lexical data with WordToolSet review checks. Definitions, examples, synonyms, and usage notes may come from different source tables, so the page is designed to show evidence from more than one angle before you rely on "bail" in a final draft.

If a word has several senses, prefer the sense that matches your sentence's grammar and surrounding context. A correct definition can still be the wrong choice when the sentence needs a different register, emphasis, or level of specificity.

Before you rely on this definition

Read the first definition as a starting point, then check the example, synonyms, and part of speech before treating "bail" as the right word for your sentence.

If your draft is formal, technical, persuasive, or sensitive, compare "bail" with a nearby alternative so the final choice matches both meaning and reader expectation.

Compare nearby meanings

  • Use synonyms when you need a softer, stronger, simpler, or more specific word.
  • Use antonyms to check the boundary of the meaning and avoid accidental contrast.
  • Use the example sentence to confirm the word behaves naturally in context.
  • Keep the original wording when a replacement adds complexity without improving precision.

Definition decision workflow

1. Identify the role

Check whether "bail" is acting as name, noun, verb, slang in your sentence. A definition is only useful when the grammar matches the way the word is being used.

2. Test the nearest option

Compare it with "bond" and other nearby choices to see whether the sentence needs a softer, stronger, or more familiar word.

3. Confirm with context

Use the example sentence below as an evidence check, then read your own sentence out loud to catch tone or rhythm problems.

Review note: Definition pages are checked for source coverage, sentence evidence, synonym support, and editorial insight before they are treated as approval-ready pages. If the evidence is too thin, the page remains available to users but is kept out of the approval-facing indexed inventory.

Final meaning check

Before publishing a sentence with "bail", ask whether the word helps the reader understand the idea faster. A precise word should reduce confusion, not simply make the sentence look more polished.

When the definition, synonym evidence, and example context point in the same direction, the word is usually a safer choice. When they conflict, revise the sentence or choose a clearer alternative.

Definitions

Noun
  1. 1
    Security, usually a sum of money, exchanged for the release of an arrested person as a guarantee of that person's appearance for trial. countable, uncountable

    "He was granted bail for £20000."

  2. 2
    A hoop, ring or handle (especially of a kettle or bucket).

    "I reached across beneath the cow to attach a metal bail to each end of the strap so that the bail hung about 5 inches below the cow's belly.[…]While stroking and talking to the cow, I reached under and suspended the machine on the bail beneath the cow, with its four suction cups dangling to one side."

  3. 3
    the legal system that allows an accused person to be temporarily released from custody (usually on condition that a sum of money guarantees their appearance at trial) wordnet
  4. 4
    Release from imprisonment on payment of such money. UK, countable, uncountable
  5. 5
    A stall for a cow (or other animal) (usually tethered with a semi-circular hoop).

    "1953, British Institute of Management, Centre for Farm Management, Farm Management Association, Farm Managememt, 1960, John Wiley, page 160, More recently, the fixed bail, sometimes called the ‘milking parlour’, with either covered or open yards, has had a certain vogue and some very enthusiastic claims have been made for this method of housing."

Show 10 more definitions
  1. 6
    (criminal law) money that must be forfeited by the bondsman if an accused person fails to appear in court for trial wordnet
  2. 7
    The person providing such payment. UK, countable, uncountable
  3. 8
    A hinged bar as a restraint for animals, or on a typewriter.
  4. 9
    A bucket or scoop used for removing water from a boat etc. countable, uncountable

    "The bail of a canoe […] made of a human skull."

  5. 10
    A frame to restrain a cow during milking or feeding. Australia, New-Zealand

    "But until he had poured enough milk into the vat above the separator, I drove unmilked cows into the bail where he had previously milked and released one. He moved from one bail to the other to milk the next one I had readied. I drove each cow into the empty bail, chained her in, roped the outer hind leg then washed and massaged the udder and teats."

  6. 11
    A person who bails water out of a boat. countable, uncountable
  7. 12
    A hoop, ring, or other object used to connect a pendant to a necklace.
  8. 13
    Custody; keeping. countable, obsolete, uncountable

    "Silly Faunus now within their baile."

  9. 14
    One of the two wooden crosspieces that rest on top of the stumps to form a wicket.

    "As Jason Roy's throw came in from deep mid-wicket, a diving Guptill was short when Buttler removed the bails, sending England and the whole of Lord's into delirious celebrations."

  10. 15
    Normally curved handle suspended between sockets as a drawer pull. This may also be on a kettle or pail.
Verb
  1. 1
    To secure the release of an arrested person by providing bail.

    "For the first time, the arrests broadened beyond payments to police, with a Ministry of Defence employee and a member of the Armed forces held by police before also being bailed to a date in May."

  2. 2
    To leave or exit abruptly. intransitive, slang

    "With his engine in flames, the pilot had no choice but to bail."

  3. 3
    To secure the head of a cow during milking.
  4. 4
    To confine. rare
  5. 5
    remove (water) from a vessel with a container wordnet
Show 12 more definitions
  1. 6
    To release a person under such guarantee.
  2. 7
    To fail to meet a commitment (to a person). informal, intransitive

    ""No one bails on Bennie Milagros. No one, comprende? I'm gonna hold you to that midnight run — ""

  3. 8
    To secure (a cow) by placing its head in a bail for milking. Australia, New-Zealand
  4. 9
    empty (a vessel) by bailing wordnet
  5. 10
    To hand over personal property to be held temporarily by another as a bailment.

    "to bail cloth to a tailor to be made into a garment; to bail goods to a carrier"

  6. 11
    To keep (a traveller) detained in order to rob them; to corner (a wild animal); loosely, to detain, hold up. Australia, New-Zealand, usually, with-up

    "The transition over the rooftop would have been quicker if Sellers had not been bailed up by a particularly hostile spiritual presence speaking Swedish."

  7. 12
    secure the release of (someone) by providing security wordnet
  8. 13
    To remove (water) from a boat by scooping it out. intransitive, transitive

    "to bail water out of a boat"

  9. 14
    deliver something in trust to somebody for a special purpose and for a limited period wordnet
  10. 15
    To remove water from (a boat) by scooping it out. transitive

    "to bail a boat"

  11. 16
    release after a security has been paid wordnet
  12. 17
    To set free; to deliver; to release.

    "Ne none there was to reskue her, ne none to baile."

Proper Noun
  1. 1
    A surname.

Synonyms

All synonyms
bondabandonarraignmentbail bondbailingbilge

Example

"It's so typical of him to bail out at the last minute."

Common questions

What does "bail" mean?

Security, usually a sum of money, exchanged for the release of an arrested person as a guarantee of that person's appearance for trial.

What is a synonym for "bail"?

Common synonyms include: bond, abandon, arraignment, bail bond, bailing, bilge.

How do you use "bail" in a sentence?

It's so typical of him to bail out at the last minute.

How do you pronounce "bail"?

Pronounced /beɪl/.

Etymology

Etymology 1

From Middle English baille, from the Old French verb bailler (“to deliver or hand over”) and noun bail (“lease”), from Latin bāiulāre (“carry or bear”), from baiulus (“porter; steward”) (English: bailiff).

Etymology 2

From a shortening of bail out, ultimately same as above.

Etymology 3

From Middle English beyle, from Old English bīeġels, from bīeġan + -els.

Etymology 4

From French baillier.

More for "bail"

Synonyms

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