Bite Definition
bīt
bit, bites, biting, bitten
verb
bit, bites, biting, bitten
To cut, grip, or tear with or as if with the teeth.
American Heritage
To grip, pierce, or cut with the teeth or with parts like jaws.
Webster's New World
To press or snap the teeth (into, at, etc.)
Webster's New World
To cut into, as with a sharp weapon.
Webster's New World
To have a tendency to do this.
Webster's New World
Synonyms:
Antonyms:
noun
bites
The act of biting.
Webster's New World
Biting quality; sting.
A bite to his words.
Webster's New World
A stinging or smarting sensation.
American Heritage
A wound, bruise, or sting from biting.
Webster's New World
An incisive, penetrating quality.
The bite of satire.
American Heritage
Synonyms:
idiom
bite off more than (one) can chew
- To decide or agree to do more than one can finally accomplish.
American Heritage
bite (someone's) head off
- To respond to a comment in an angry or reproachful way.
American Heritage
bite the bullet
- To face a painful situation bravely and stoically.
American Heritage
bite the dust
- To fall dead, especially in combat.
- To be defeated.
American Heritage
bite the hand that feeds (one)
- To repay generosity or kindness with ingratitude and injury.
American Heritage
Idioms, Phrasal Verbs Related to Bite
Origin of Bite
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From Middle English biten, from Old English bītan, from Proto-Germanic *bītaną, from Proto-Indo-European *bʰeyd- (“to split”). Cognates include West Frisian bite, Low German bieten, Dutch bijten, Swedish bita, German beißen, Danish bide, Gothic (beitan), and through Indo-European, Ancient Greek φείδομαι (pheidomai), Sanskrit भिद् (bhid, “to break”), Latin findo (“split”).
From Wiktionary
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Middle English biten from Old English bītan bheid- in Indo-European roots
From American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition
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