■ verb ( past bit ; past participle bitten )
1》 use the teeth to cut into something.
↘(of a snake, insect, or spider) wound with a sting, pincers, or fangs.
2》 (of a tool, tyre, boot, etc.) grip or take hold on a surface.
↘(of an object) press painfully into part of the body.
3》 (of an acid) corrode a surface.
4》 take effect, with unpleasant consequences: the budget cuts were starting to ~.
↘ informal annoy or worry: what's biting you now?
5》 (of a fish) take the bait or lure on the end of a fishing line into the mouth.
↘ informal be persuaded to accept an offer.
6》 ( ~ something back ) refrain with difficulty from saying something.
■ noun
1》 an act or instance of biting.
↘a piece cut off by biting.
↘ Dentistry the bringing together of the teeth in occlusion.
2》 informal a quick snack.
3》 a sharp or pungent flavour.
↘a feeling of cold in the air.
Phrases
be bitten by the —— bug develop a passionate interest in a specified activity.
~ the big one N. Amer. informal
1》 die.
2》 be very unpleasant.
~ the bullet decide after hesitation to do something difficult or unpleasant. [from the old custom of giving wounded soldiers a bullet to ~ on when undergoing surgery without anaesthetic.]
~ the dust informal die or be killed.
~ the hand that feeds one deliberately harm or offend a benefactor.
~ off more than one can chew take on a commitment one cannot fulfil.
the ~r bitten (or bit ) indicating that someone is being treated in the same way as they have treated others.
~ one's tongue make a desperate effort to avoid saying something.
once bitten, twice shy an unpleasant experience induces caution.
one could have bitten one's tongue off one profoundly regrets having said something.
put the ~ on N. Amer. & Austral./NZ informal borrow or extort money from. [1930s (orig. US): ~ , from the sl. sense 'deception'.]
Derivatives
~r noun
Origin
OE bītan , of Gmc origin.