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
Synonyms
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
Ganesh Rao, CNBC, 21 Nov. 2024
The Department of Justice (DOJ) said in a statement that Adani, a key ally of Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, and seven other executives, including his nephew Sagar Adani, promised more than $250 million in bribes to Indian government officials to secure solar energy contracts.
—Ramishah Maruf, CNN, 21 Nov. 2024
Ganesh Rao, CNBC, 21 Nov. 2024
Billionaire Gautam Adani has been charged by U.S. federal prosecutors with defrauding investors and orchestrating a covert scheme to bribe officials in India, authorities said Wednesday.
—Matt Robison, Newsweek, 20 Nov. 2024
See all Example Sentences for bribe 
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
show current usage.
Read More
Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors.
Send us feedback.
Noun
One document is alleged to reveal $7 million paid to secure a 650 megawatt power purchase agreement and $76 million as bribe for a 2.3 gigawatt contract.
—Ganesh Rao, CNBC, 21 Nov. 2024
The Department of Justice (DOJ) said in a statement that Adani, a key ally of Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, and seven other executives, including his nephew Sagar Adani, promised more than $250 million in bribes to Indian government officials to secure solar energy contracts.
—Ramishah Maruf, CNN, 21 Nov. 2024
Verb
This document, according to the U.S. attorney’s office for the Eastern District of New York, summarized the amounts the Indian energy company was owed by Azure Power, previously listed on the NYSE, for bribing Indian government officials.
—Ganesh Rao, CNBC, 21 Nov. 2024
Billionaire Gautam Adani has been charged by U.S. federal prosecutors with defrauding investors and orchestrating a covert scheme to bribe officials in India, authorities said Wednesday.
—Matt Robison, Newsweek, 20 Nov. 2024
See all Example Sentences for bribe
Dictionary Entries Near bribe
Cite this Entry
“Bribe.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/bribe. Accessed 29 Nov. 2024.
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
Love words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share