"bite" Definition

Definitions for the word "bite" from multiple English dictionaries.

1. v.
(-ting; past bit; past part. Bitten) 1 cut or puncture with the teeth. 2 (foll. By off, away, etc.) Detach thus. 3 (of an insect etc.) Sting. 4 (of a wheel etc.) Grip, penetrate. 5 accept bait or an inducement. 6 be harsh in effect, esp. Intentionally. 7 (in passive) a swindle. B (foll. By by, with, etc.) Be infected by (enthusiasm etc.). 8 colloq. Worry, perturb. 9 cause smarting pain (biting wind). 10 be sharp or effective (biting wit). 11 (foll. By at) snap at. n. 1 act of biting. 2 wound etc. Made by biting. 3 a mouthful of food. B snack. 4 taking of bait by a fish. 5 pungency (esp. Of flavour). 6 incisiveness, sharpness. 7 position of the teeth when the jaws are closed. bite the dust slang die. Bite a person''s head off colloq. Respond angrily. Bite one''s lip repress emotion etc. [old english]
Source: Oxford English Dictionary, 1884
2. slang
a cheat; “a Yorkshire BITE,” a cheating fellow from that county. The term BITE is also applied to a hard bargainer.—_North_; also _old slang_—used by _Pope_. Swift says it originated with a nobleman in his day.
Source: The Slang Dictionary, 1864
3. slang
to cheat; “to be BITTEN,” to be taken in or imposed upon. Originally a Gipsy term. CROSS-BITER, for a cheat, continually occurs in writers of the sixteenth century. Bailey has CROSS-BITE, a disappointment, probably the primary sense; and BITE is very probably a contraction of this.
Source: The Slang Dictionary, 1864

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