Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English
bribe
I. bribe1 /braɪb/ verb [transitive]
1. to illegally give someone, especially a public official, money or a gift in order to persuade them to do something for you:
The only way we could get into the country was by bribing the border officials.
bribe somebody to do something
He bribed one of the guards to smuggle out a note.
2. to offer someone, especially a child, something special in order to persuade them to do something
bribe somebody with something
Sam wouldn’t do her homework until I bribed her with ice cream.
II. bribe2 noun [countable]
[Date: 1300-1400; Language: Old French; Origin: 'bread given to a beggar']
1. money or a gift that you illegally give someone to persuade them to do something for you:
The officials said that they had been offered bribes before an important game.
accept/take a bribe
A Supreme Court judge was charged with taking bribes.
2. something special offered to someone, especially a child, in order to persuade them to do something
• • •
COLLOCATIONS
verbs
▪ offer somebody a bribe Some sportsmen have been offered bribes to perform badly.
▪ accept/take a bribe Any officials who accept bribes will face criminal charges.
▪ give somebody a bribe They issued passports to people who gave them bribes.
▪ pay a bribe It was claimed that the company paid bribes to win the contract.
bribe + NOUN
▪ bribe money The mayor is accused of accepting bribe money.
Oxford Advanced Learner's Dictionary
bribe
bribe [bribe bribes bribed bribing] noun, verb [braɪb] [braɪb]
noun
a sum of money or sth valuable that you give or offer to sb to persuade them to help you, especially by doing sth dishonest
• It was alleged that he had taken bribes while in office.
• She had been offered a $50 000 bribe to drop the charges.
Word Origin:
late Middle English: from Old French briber, brimber ‘beg’, of unknown origin. The original sense was ‘rob, extort’, hence (as a noun) ‘theft, stolen goods’, also ‘money extorted or demanded for favours’, later ‘offer money as an incentive’ (early 16th cent.).
Thesaurus:
bribe noun C
• She was offered a large bribe to drop the charges.
inducement • • bait • |especially AmE kickback • |informal, usually disapproving pay-off •
£1 000/$500, etc. bribe/pay-off
offer (sb) a/an bribe/inducement/pay-off
take bribes/the bait/kickbacks
Collocations:
Crime
Committing a crime
commit a crime/a murder/a violent assault/a brutal killing/an armed robbery/fraud
be involved in terrorism/a suspected arson attack/people smuggling/human trafficking
engage/participate in criminal activity/illegal practices/acts of mindless vandalism
steal sb's wallet/purse/(BrE) mobile phone/(NAmE) cell phone
rob a bank/a person/a tourist
break into/ (BrE) burgle/ (NAmE) burglarize a house/a home/an apartment
hijack a plane/ship/bus
smuggle drugs/weapons/arms/immigrants
launder drug money (through sth)
forge documents/certificates/passports
take/accept/pay sb/offer (sb) a bribe
run a phishing/an email/an Internet scam
Fighting crime
combat/fight crime/terrorism/corruption/drug trafficking
prevent/stop credit-card fraud/child abuse/software piracy
deter/stop criminals/burglars/thieves/shoplifters/vandals
reduce/tackle/crack down on knife/gun/violent/street crime; (especially BrE) antisocial behaviour
foil a bank raid/a terrorist plot
help/support/protect the victims of crime
Investigating crime
report a crime/a theft/a rape/an attack/(especially BrE) an incident to the police
witness the crime/attack/murder/incident
investigate a murder/(especially NAmE) a homicide/a burglary/a robbery/the alleged incident
conduct/launch/pursue an investigation (into…); (especially BrE) a police/murder inquiry
investigate/reopen a criminal/murder case
examine/investigate/find fingerprints at the crime scene/the scene of crime
collect/gather forensic evidence
uncover new evidence/a fraud/a scam/a plot/a conspiracy/political corruption/a cache of weapons
describe/identify a suspect/the culprit/the perpetrator/the assailant/the attacker
question/interrogate a suspect/witness
solve/crack the case
more collocations at justice
Example Bank:
• He paid out millions of dollars in bribes.
• a bribe of €200
• He was alleged to have accepted bribes while in office.
• The company denied that the money was intended as a bribe.
• The tax cut was described as a pre-election bribe.
verb
to give sb money or sth valuable in order to persuade them to help you, especially by doing sth dishonest
• ~ sb (with sth) They bribed the guards with cigarettes.
• ~ sb into doing sth She was bribed into handing over secret information.
• ~ sb to do sth She bribed him to sign the certificate.
• ~ your way… He managed to bribe his way onto the ship.
Word Origin:
late Middle English: from Old French briber, brimber ‘beg’, of unknown origin. The original sense was ‘rob, extort’, hence (as a noun) ‘theft, stolen goods’, also ‘money extorted or demanded for favours’, later ‘offer money as an incentive’ (early 16th cent.).
Example Bank:
• He must have bribed his way out of the prison.
• He managed to bribe his way onto the ship.
Cambridge Advanced Learner's Dictionary
bribe
bribe /braɪb/
verb [T]
to try to make someone do something for you by giving them money, presents or something else that they want:
He bribed immigration officials and entered the country illegally.
[+ to infinitive] They bribed the waiter to find them a better table.
bribe /braɪb/
noun [C]
money or a present that you give to someone so that they will do something for you, usually something dishonest:
He was accused of accepting/taking bribes from wealthy businessmen.
bribery /ˈbraɪ.bər.i/ US /-bɚ-/
noun [U]
The organization was rife with bribery and corruption.