bite
To cut into something by clamping the teeth.
Verb 4 meanings
To cut into something by clamping the teeth.
“As soon as you bite that sandwich, you'll know how good it is.”
To hold something by clamping one's teeth.
To attack with the teeth.
“That dog is about to bite!”
To behave aggressively; to reject advances.
“If you see me, come and say hello. I don't bite.”
Noun 4 meanings
The act of biting.
The wound left behind after having been bitten.
“That snake bite really hurts!”
The swelling of one's skin caused by an insect's mouthparts or sting.
“After just one night in the jungle I was covered with mosquito bites.”
A piece of food of a size that would be produced by biting; a mouthful.
“There were only a few bites left on the plate.”
Etymology
From Middle English biten, from Old English bītan (“bite”), from Proto-West Germanic *bītan, from Proto-Germanic *bītaną (“bite”), from Proto-Indo-European *bʰeyd- (“split”).
Similar and opposite words
BITE at a glance
BITE has 4 letters and scores 6 points in Scrabble (B 3 + I 1 + T 1 + E 1) and 7 in Words With Friends, before board bonuses. It ranks #4,133 by how often it appears in everyday English. It is valid in ENABLE, NWL2023, Collins/SOWPODS.
Rhymes with bite
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