INDEX:
1. to bite something
2. to bite someone
3. a wound caused by an animal or insect biting you
4. to bite something several times, especially food
RELATED WORDS
see also
↑ EAT
↑ FOOD
◆◆◆
1. to bite something
▷ bite /baɪt/ [transitive verb]
▪ I sometimes bite my fingernails when I’m nervous.
▪ Barry bit the corner of the packet to open it.
bite [countable noun]
▪ After two bites I realised the apple was rotten.
▷ take a bite /ˌteɪk ə ˈbaɪt/ [verb phrase]
to bite off a piece of food and eat it :
▪ She took a bite of doughnut, and chewed it slowly.
▪ ‘This looks delicious,’ he said, taking a bite.
▷ bite off /ˌbaɪt ˈɒf/ [transitive phrasal verb]
to remove something by biting it :
bite off something
▪ The dog’s bitten off the heel of my shoe.
bite something off
▪ He took out a cigar and bit the end off.
▪ Kenny’s favourite party trick is to bite the caps off beer bottles.
▷ bite into /ˈbaɪt ɪntuː/ [transitive phrasal verb]
to bite a piece of food :
bite into something
▪ Earl picked up his sandwich and bit into it.
▪ Henry cracked a tooth biting into a piece of hard candy.
2. to bite someone
▷ bite /baɪt/ [intransitive/transitive verb]
▪ Don’t worry about the dog - he won’t bite.
▪ She fought off her attacker, scratching and biting him.
bite somebody on the face/hand/leg etc
▪ On just the second day of the trip, I was bitten on the leg by a snake.
▷ sink your teeth into /ˌsɪŋk jɔːʳ ˈtiːθ ɪntuː/ [verb phrase]
to bite a part of someone’s body very hard so that your teeth go into their flesh :
▪ The dog leapt at him, sinking its teeth into his arm.
▪ The shark sank its teeth into the soft flesh of his thigh.
▷ snap at /ˈsnæp æt/ [verb phrase]
to try to bite someone by making quick biting movements :
▪ Sean came running around the corner of the house with a small dog snapping at his heels.
▪ Every time your puppy snaps at someone, give him a smack on the butt with a rolled up newspaper.
▷ nip /nɪp/ [intransitive/transitive verb]
to bite someone or something with small sharp bites, or to try to do this :
▪ When I took the hamster out of his cage, he nipped me.
nip at
▪ A school of fish swam around her feet, some nipping at her ankles.
▷ give somebody a bite /ˌgɪv somebody ə ˈbaɪt/ [verb phrase] especially British
to bite someone, not very hard :
▪ Don’t try to pet the parrot - he could give you a really nasty bite.
3. a wound caused by an animal or insect biting you
▷ bite /baɪt/ [countable noun]
▪ Animal bites should be treated immediately.
▪ We woke up to find ourselves covered in mosquito bites.
4. to bite something several times, especially food
▷ chew /tʃuː/ [intransitive/transitive verb]
to keep biting something that is in your mouth :
▪ Chew your food. Don’t eat so quickly.
▪ Helen sat there, chewing a piece of gum.
chew on
▪ I gave the baby my key ring to chew on.
▷ gnaw /nɔː/ [intransitive/transitive verb]
if an animal gnaws something, it bites it repeatedly in order to eat it or destroy it :
▪ The dog lay in the yard and gnawed its bone.
gnaw at
▪ The cat began to gnaw at the skin of the dead snake.
gnaw through
▪ A rat’s teeth are strong enough to gnaw through lead pipes.
▷ peck /pek/ [intransitive/transitive verb]
if a bird pecks something, it makes quick repeated movements with its beak to try to bite it :
▪ There was a red mark where the pigeon had pecked her hand.
▪ The woodpecker’s long beak is specially designed for pecking.
peck at
▪ Hens pecked at the corn scattered on the ground.
peck [countable noun]
▪ It takes several pecks for the chick to make a hole in the eggshell.