- bite
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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.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.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.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.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.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]
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Universalium. 2010.