/ baɪt; NAmE / verb , noun
■ verb
( bit / bɪt; NAmE /, bit·ten / ˈbɪtn; NAmE /)
USE TEETH
1.
bite (into / through / off sth) to use your teeth to cut into or through sth :
[ vn ]
She was bitten by the family dog.
Stop biting your nails!
[ v ]
She bit into a ripe juicy pear.
Does your dog bite?
Come here! I won't bite! (= you don't need to be afraid)
He bit off a large chunk of bread / He bit a large chunk of bread off.
OF INSECT / SNAKE
2.
to wound sb by making a small hole or mark in their skin :
[ vn ]
We were badly bitten by mosquitoes.
[ v ]
Most European spiders don't bite.
OF FISH
3.
[ v ] if a fish bites , it takes food from the hook of a fishing line and may get caught
HAVE EFFECT
4.
[ v ] to have an unpleasant effect :
The recession is beginning to bite.
•
IDIOMS
- be bitten by sth
- bite the bullet
- bite the dust
- bite the hand that feeds you
- bite your lip
- bite off more than you can chew
- bite your tongue
- I, etc. could have bitten my / his / her tongue out / off
—more at head noun , once adverb
•
PHRASAL VERBS
- bite back (at sb/sth)
- bite sth back
- bite into sth
■ noun
USING TEETH
1.
[ C ] an act of biting :
The dog gave me a playful bite.
He has to wear a brace to correct his bite (= the way the upper and lower teeth fit together) .
FOOD
2.
[ C ] a small piece of food that you can bite from a larger piece :
She took a couple of bites of the sandwich.
He didn't eat a bite of his dinner (= he ate nothing) .
3.
a ~ (to eat) [ sing. ] ( informal ) a small amount of food; a small meal :
How about a bite of lunch?
We just have time for a bite to eat before the movie.
OF INSECT / ANIMAL
4.
[ C ] a wound made by an animal or insect :
Dog bites can get infected.
a mosquito / snake bite
STRONG TASTE
5.
[ U ] a pleasant strong taste :
Cheese will add extra bite to any pasta dish.
COLD
6.
[ sing. ] a sharp cold feeling :
There's a bite in the air tonight.
POWERFUL EFFECT
7.
[ U ] a quality that makes sth effective or powerful :
The performance had no bite to it.
OF FISH
8.
[ C ] the act of a fish biting food on a hook
—see also frostbite , love bite , sound bite
•
IDIOMS
- a bite at / of the cherry
—more at bark noun
••
WORD ORIGIN
Old English bītan , of Germanic origin; related to Dutch bijten and German beissen .