bite

[[t]baɪt[/t]]

v. bit, bit•ten bit, bit•ing,

1) to cut, wound, or tear with the teeth

2) to sever with the teeth (often fol. by off)

3) to grip with the teeth

4) to sting, as an insect

5) to cause to sting:

faces bitten by the icy wind[/ex]

6) inf Informal.

a) to cheat; deceive:

bitten in a mail-order swindle[/ex]

b) to annoy or upset:

What's biting you?[/ex]

7) to eat into; corrode

8) to cut or pierce with or as if with a weapon

9) to take firm hold of:

a clamp to bite the wood[/ex]

10) to make an impression on; affect

11) to press the teeth into something; attack with the jaws, bill, sting, etc

12) spo (of fish) to take the bait

13) to accept a deceptive offer or suggestion

14) to take a firm hold

15) the act of biting

16) a wound made by biting

17) a cutting, stinging, or nipping effect

18) a piece bitten off

19) a small meal

20) a morsel of food

21) an exacted portion:

the tax bite[/ex]

22) den the occlusion of the teeth

23) a short excerpt, fragment, or bit:

a visual bite from a film; word bites from poems[/ex]

24) mac

a) the catch or hold that one object or one part of a mechanical apparatus has on another

b) mac a surface brought into contact to obtain a hold or grip, as in a lathe chuck

25) sharpness; incisiveness

26) the roughness of the surface of a file

•

- bite off more than one can chew bite one's lip bite someone's head off bite the hand that feeds one put the bite on

Etymology: bef. 1000; ME, OE bītan; c. OHG bīzan, Go beitan; akin to L findere to split bit′a•ble, bite′a•ble, adj.