What does "bite" mean?
The act of biting.
Bite
/baɪt/ noun, verb, slang
noun, verb, slang ·Top 500 ·Elementary level
Meaning at a glance
- Primary sense: The act of biting.
- Grammar: bite is listed as noun, verb, slang.
- Nearest alternatives: chomp, sting, acerbity, acidity.
- Useful contrasts: boost, ease, increase.
- Usage evidence: You're lucky because he didn't bite you.
How to use "bite"
- Start with the primary definition, then check the part of speech before placing the word in a sentence.
- Compare nearby synonyms to make sure "bite" carries the exact meaning, tone, and strength you need.
- 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 "bite" 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 "bite" as the right word for your sentence.
If your draft is formal, technical, persuasive, or sensitive, compare "bite" 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 "bite" is acting as 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 "chomp" 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 "bite", 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 The act of biting. countable, uncountable
"[…]I have knowne a very good Fiſher angle diligently four or ſix hours in a day, for three or four dayes together for a River Carp, and not have a bite[…]"
- 2 Acronym of behavior, information, thoughts, emotions (“four aspects of people's lives that a cult attempts to control”). abbreviation, acronym, alt-of, uncountable
- 3 a portion removed from the whole wordnet
- 4 The wound left behind after having been bitten. countable, uncountable
"That snake bite really hurts!"
- 5 the act of gripping or chewing off with the teeth and jaws wordnet
Show 21 more definitions
- 6 The swelling of one's skin caused by an insect's mouthparts or sting. countable, uncountable
"After just one night in the jungle I was covered with mosquito bites."
- 7 a strong odor or taste property wordnet
- 8 A piece of food of a size that would be produced by biting; a mouthful. countable, uncountable
"There were only a few bites left on the plate."
- 9 wit having a sharp and caustic quality wordnet
- 10 Something unpleasant. countable, slang, uncountable
"In February of this year, 9to5 was forced to lay off four of its paid staff, and began to feel the bite of its high-rent downtown office space."
- 11 (angling) an instance of a fish taking the bait wordnet
- 12 An act of plagiarism. countable, slang, uncountable
"That song is a bite of my song!"
- 13 a light informal meal wordnet
- 14 A small meal or snack. countable, uncountable
"a bite to eat"
- 15 a small amount of solid food; a mouthful wordnet
- 16 incisiveness, provocativeness, exactness. figuratively, uncountable
- 17 a wound resulting from biting by an animal or a person wordnet
- 18 Aggression. figuratively, uncountable
"Kathy Santen is full of bite as the bizarrely seduced Lady Anne, although her exaggerated diction is a bit too snappishly Shakespearean."
- 19 a painful wound caused by the thrust of an insect's stinger into skin wordnet
- 20 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. countable, uncountable
- 21 A cheat; a trick; a fraud. colloquial, countable, dated, uncountable
"The baser methods of getting money by fraud and bite, by deceiving and overreaching."
- 22 A sharper; one who cheats. colloquial, countable, dated, slang, uncountable
"[I]t was conjectured, that Peregrine was a bite from the beginning, who had found credit on account of his effrontery and appearance, and impoſed himſelf upon the town as a young gentleman of fortune."
- 23 A 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. countable, uncountable
- 24 A cut, a proportion of profits; an amount of money. countable, slang, uncountable
"I know three Americans who are running a bar. The cops come in all the time for a bite."
- 25 Ellipsis of sound bite. abbreviation, alt-of, countable, ellipsis, uncountable
"cold open: Starting a TV newscast with video or a bite from the lead story rather than starting with the anchor or the standard show open."
- 26 The turn that a spin bowler imparts to a pitch. countable, uncountable
Verb
- 1 To cut into something by clamping the teeth. transitive
"As soon as you bite that sandwich, you'll know how good it is."
- 2 penetrate or cut, as with a knife wordnet
- 3 To hold something by clamping one's teeth. transitive
- 4 deliver a sting to wordnet
- 5 To attack with the teeth. intransitive
"That dog is about to bite!"
Show 17 more definitions
- 6 to grip, cut off, or tear with or as if with the teeth or jaws wordnet
- 7 To behave aggressively; to reject advances. intransitive
"If you see me, come and say hello. I don't bite."
- 8 cause a sharp or stinging pain or discomfort wordnet
- 9 To take hold; to establish firm contact with. intransitive
"I needed snow chains to make the tires bite."
- 10 To have significant effect, often negative. intransitive
"For homeowners with adjustable rate mortgages, rising interest will really bite."
- 11 To bite a baited hook or other lure and thus be caught. intransitive
"Are the fish biting today?"
- 12 To accept something offered, often secretly or deceptively, to cause some action by the acceptor. figuratively, intransitive
"I've planted the story. Do you think they'll bite?"
- 13 To sting. intransitive, transitive
"These mosquitoes are really biting today!"
- 14 To cause a smarting sensation; to have a property which causes such a sensation; to be pungent. intransitive
"It bites like pepper or mustard."
- 15 To cause sharp pain or damage to; to hurt or injure. figuratively, sometimes, transitive
"Pepper bites the mouth."
- 16 To cause sharp pain; to produce anguish; to hurt or injure; to have the property of so doing. intransitive
"At the laſt it [wine] biteth like a ſerpent, and ſtingeth like ‖ an adder."
- 17 To take or keep a firm hold. intransitive
"The anchor bites."
- 18 To take hold of; to hold fast; to adhere to. transitive
"The anchor bites the ground."
- 19 To lack quality; to be worthy of derision; to suck. slang, stative
"This music really bites."
- 20 To perform oral sex on. Used in invective. informal, transitive, vulgar
"You don't like that I sat on your car? Bite me."
- 21 To plagiarize, to imitate. intransitive, slang
"He always be biting my moves."
- 22 To deceive or defraud; to take in. obsolete, slang, transitive
Example
"You're lucky because he didn't bite you."
Common questions
What is a synonym for "bite"?
Common synonyms include: chomp, sting, acerbity, acidity, acridity, acrimony.
How do you use "bite" in a sentence?
You're lucky because he didn't bite you.
How do you pronounce "bite"?
Pronounced /baɪt/.
Etymology
From Middle English biten, from Old English bītan (“bite”), from Proto-West Germanic *bītan, from Proto-Germanic *bītaną (“bite”), from Proto-Indo-European *bʰeyd- (“split”). Cognates include Saterland Frisian biete (“bite”), West Frisian bite (“bite”), Dutch bijten (“bite”), German Low German bieten (“bite”), German beißen, beissen (“bite”), Danish bide (“bite”), Swedish bita (“bite”), Norwegian Bokmål bite (“bite”), Norwegian Nynorsk bita (“bite”), Icelandic bíta (“bite”), Gothic 𐌱𐌴𐌹𐍄𐌰𐌽 (beitan, “bite”), Latin findō (“split”), Ancient Greek φείδομαι (pheídomai), Sanskrit भिद् (bhid, “break”).