— bitable, biteable , adj.
/buyt/ , v. , bit, bitten or bit, biting , n.
v.t.
1. to cut, wound, or tear with the teeth: She bit the apple greedily. The lion bit his trainer.
2. to grip or hold with the teeth: Stop biting your lip!
3. to sting, as does an insect.
4. to cause to smart or sting: an icy wind that bit our faces.
5. to sever with the teeth (often fol. by off ): Don't bite your nails. The child bit off a large piece of the candy bar.
6. to start to eat (often fol. by into ): She bit into her steak.
7. to clamp the teeth firmly on or around (often fol. by on ): He bit hard on the stick while they removed the bullet from his leg.
8. Informal.
a. to take advantage of; cheat; deceive: I got bitten in a mail-order swindle.
b. to annoy or upset; anger: What's biting you, sorehead?
9. to eat into or corrode, as does an acid.
10. to cut or pierce with, or as with, a weapon: The sword split his helmet and bit him fatally.
11. Etching. to etch with acid (a copper or other surface) in such parts as are left bare of a protective coating.
12. to take firm hold or act effectively on: We need a clamp to bite the wood while the glue dries.
13. Archaic. to make a decided impression on; affect.
v.i.
14. to press the teeth into something; attack with the jaws, bill, sting, etc.; snap: Does your parrot bite?
15. Angling. (of fish) to take bait: The fish aren't biting today.
16. to accept an offer or suggestion, esp. one intended to trick or deceive: I knew it was a mistake, but I bit anyway.
17. Informal. to admit defeat in guessing: I'll bite, who is it?
18. to act effectively; grip; hold: This wood is so dry the screws don't bite.
19. Slang. to be notably repellent, disappointing, poor, etc.; suck.
20. bite off more than one can chew , to attempt something that exceeds one's capacity: In trying to build a house by himself, he bit off more than he could chew.
21. bite someone's head off , to respond with anger or impatience to someone's question or comment: He'll bite your head off if you ask for anything.
22. bite the bullet . See bullet (def. 6).
23. bite the dust . See dust (def. 14).
24. bite the hand that feeds one , to repay kindness with malice or injury: When he berates his boss, he is biting the hand that feeds him.
n.
25. an act of biting.
26. a wound made by biting: a deep bite.
27. a cutting, stinging, or nipping effect: the bite of an icy wind; the bite of whiskey on the tongue.
28. a piece bitten off: Chew each bite carefully.
29. a small meal: Let's have a bite before the theater.
30. a portion severed from the whole: the government's weekly bite of my paycheck.
31. a morsel of food: not a bite to eat.
32. the occlusion of one's teeth: The dentist said I had a good bite.
33. Mach.
a. the catch or hold that one object or one part of a mechanical apparatus has on another.
b. a surface brought into contact to obtain a hold or grip, as in a lathe chuck or similar device.
c. the amount of material that a mechanical shovel or the like can carry at one time.
34. sharpness; incisiveness; effectiveness: The bite of his story is spoiled by his slovenly style.
35. the roughness of the surface of a file.
36. Metalworking. the maximum angle, measured from the center of a roll in a rolling mill, between a perpendicular and a line to the point of contact where a given object to be rolled will enter between the rolls.
37. put the bite on , Slang.
a. to solicit or attempt to borrow money or something of value from.
b. to press for money, as in extortion: They found out about his prison record and began to put the bite on him.
[ bef. 1000; ME biten, OE bitan; c. OHG bizan (G beissen ), Goth beitan, ON bita; akin to L findere to split ]
Syn. 1. gnaw, chew, nip. 27. mouthful, morsel, taste; scrap, crumb, dab. 28. snack, nosh.