▪ I. bite, v.
(baɪt)
Pa. tense bit (bɪt). Pa. pple. bitten (ˈbɪt(ə)n); also bit. arch. Forms: inf. 1–2 b{iacu}tan, 2–4 biten, (4–6 byte, 6–7 bight), 4– bite. pa. tense 1–4 bát, 3–5 bot, 4–5 boot, 4–6 (and 9 dial.) bote, (5 boght); 7– bit; pl. 1 biton, 2–4 biten; also sing. 4 bett, bited, 5 bete; Sc. 4 bayte, 6 bait, 6– bate. pa. pple. 1–4 biten, 4 byten, bittin, (ybite, ibyten), 8–9 bit, 7– bitten.
[Com. Teut.: OE. b{iacu}tan, pa. tense bát, biton, pa. pple. biten = OS. bitan (MDu. bîten, Du. bijten), OFris. bîta, ON. b{iacu}ta (Sw. bita, Da. bide), OHG. bîȥan (MHG. bîȥen, mod.G. beiszen). Goth. beitan, pa. tense bait, bitum, pple. bitans:—OTeut. *bîtan, cogn. w. Skr. bhid-, L. fid- (findere) ‘to cleave, split.’ Originally inflected like write; but since 16th c. the regular pa. tense bote, still used in Lancashire, etc., has been superseded in standard Eng. by the form bit, which (though it has the original vowel of the plural) is not a continuation of that form, but formed either after the pa. pple., or on the analogy of some other verbs of the same class.]
I. Said of the teeth.
1. a. trans. To cut into, pierce, or nip (anything) with the teeth.
To bite is the function of the front teeth (incisors and canines); the back teeth (molars) chew, crush, or grind.
| a 1000 Beowulf 1488 He ᵹefeng hraðe..slǽpendne rinc bát bán-locan. a 1400 Cov. Myst. (1841) 29 Adam ffor thou that appyl boot Agens my byddyng. c 1420 Anturs Arth. xliii, The burlokkest blonke ther euyr bote brede. a 1500 in Restrosp. Rev. (1853) Nov. 104 The appulle that Adam bett. 1526 Pilgr. Perf. (W. de W. 1531) 208 b, He that doth byte a thynge dothe not vtterly destroye it but mynysshe it. 1592 Shakes. Ven. & Ad. 316 He stamps and bites the poor flies in his fume. 1733 Swift On Poetry 90 Be mindful, when invention fails, To scratch your head and bite your nails. |
b. with adverbial complement. to bite away or bite off: to remove or detach by biting. to bite through, bite asunder, bite in two, etc.: to divide by biting. to bite back: to restrain (speech) by biting the lips.
| c 1250 Gen. & Ex. 2926 Here aldre heuedes he of bot. c 1374 Chaucer Boeth. ii. vi. 53 Þis free man boot of hys owen tunge, and cast it in þe visage of þilke woode tyraunte. 1460 J. Capgrave Chron. (1858) 178 His hed was byten fro the body. 1480 Robt. Devyll 155 in Hazl. E.P.P. I. 225 Hys teeth grewe so peryllousslye, That the norysshe nypples he bote a waye. a 1529 Skelton P. Sparowe 302 The selfe same hounde..Myght byte asondre thy throte. [1861 E. Waugh Birtle Carter's T. 11 His wife bote her tung i' two.] 1870 Geo. Eliot Armgart. ii, Truth has rough flavours if we bite it through. 1881 Mrs. J. H. Riddell Senior Partner II. xi. 221 Hot and strong was the reply which rose to Robert's lips, but he bit it back. 1923 ‘Joan Sutherland’ Garland of Olive xxv, Hunt bit back his sharply released breath. |
c. with cognate object.
| c 1320 Cast. Love 1343 A gret bite he bot of helle. |
2. a. intr. or absol. in same sense. Const. of, on, upon (obs.). to bite at: to make an attempt to bite, to snap with the teeth at.
| c 1175 Lamb. Hom. 123 Ne nom he na alle..ah ane dale alswa me bit of ane epple. a 1300 Cursor M. 18732 He..Þat neuer o þat appel bate. 1398 Trevisa Barth. De P.R. v. xx. (1495) 126 Sharpe teeth growen or the brode teeth . for it nedyth to byte rather than to grynde. c 1450 Knt. de la Tour (1868) 148 She bote upon the appille. 1596 Spenser State Irel. 46 [They] byte at the dugge from which they sucked life. 1668 Pepys Diary 11 Feb., [It] makes me mad to see them bite at the stone, and not at the hand that flings it. |
b. to bite on (fig.): to ‘get one's teeth into’, to take or get hold of (something substantial).
| 1904 W. H. Smith Promoters i. 20 They'll bite on anything that promises water west of either of those places. 1920 Times Lit. Suppl. 25 Nov. 770/2 These two writers are not..‘Academics’..and there is plenty to ‘bite on’ in their criticisms. |
3. a. trans. To wound or lacerate with the teeth.
| a 1000 Riddles (Gr.) lxvi. 4 æghwa..biteð mec on bær lic. c 1300 K. Alis. 5435 Hy biten [pa. tense] bothe man and hors. 1340 Ayenb. 66 Þe felle dog þet byt and beberkþ alle þo þet he may. c 1400 Destr. Troy xxix. 12150 Scho bete hom bitturly with hir bare teth. c 1440 Gesta Rom. (1879) 399 The grewhonde..grevously bote hym. 1557 K. Arthur (Copland) iii. v, The whyte brachet bote hym by the buttocke and pulled out a pece. 1640 Shakes. Temp. ii. ii. 10 Sometime like Apes, that moe and chatter at me, And after bite me. 1766 Goldsm. Elegy Mad Dog, The dog..Went mad, and bit the man. 1845 Ford Handbk. Spain i. 42 The last man is the one the dog bites. |
b. with cognate object.
| 1607 Topsell Serpents 613 The Spider..biteth into his head a mortal wound. |
c. fig. (cf. wound, sting, prick.)
| c 1200 Ormin 15580 Hat lufe towarrd godess hus Me biteþþ i min herrte. c 1325 Metr. Hom. 105 Penanz bites man ful sare. 1531 Elyot Gov. i. ix. (1557) 24 Hym a lytle chydyng sore byteth. 1649 Fuller Just Man's Fun. 18 An affrighted conscience..biting of them. 1675 Hobbes Odyss. viii. 186 So much your words me bite. |
d. absol. or intr.
| c 1380 Wyclif Sel. Wks. III. 440 Lettiþ [þe houndis] boþe to berke and to byte. 1530 Palsgr. 456/1 A woman can defende her selfe no better than to scratche and byte. 1580 North Plutarch (1676) 829 A dead man biteth not. 1591 Spenser M. Hubberd 424 Yet spite bites neare. 1647 May Hist. Parl. i. vii. 73 Would faine be at something were like the Masse, that will not bite; a muzzled Religion. 1720 Watts Div. & Mor. Songs xvi, Let dogs delight to bark and bite. 1855 Macaulay Hist. Eng. IV. 666 It was better to die biting and scratching to the last. |
4. trans. To ‘sting’ as a serpent, or an insect that sucks blood.
| a 1300 Cursor M. 5955 (Gött.) Hungri flies..þat bath þai bat bath man and best. 1382 Wyclif Prov. xxiii. 32 It [wine] shal bite as a shadewe eddre [1535 Coverd. it byteth like a serpent. So 1611]. 1483 Caxton Gold. Leg. 113/4 Saynt machaire kylde a flee that bote hym. 1535 Coverdale Numb. xxi. 6 Fyrie serpentes..which bote [Genev. and 1611 bit] the people. 1730 Southall Bugs 19 This Sucking the Wound..is what we improperly call biting us. 1793 T. Beddoes Calculus 185 He employed more than three thousand vipers, and caused to be bit more than four thousand animals. 1871 B. Taylor Faust. i. v. (1886) 64 We crack them [fleas] and we crush them, At once, whene'er they bite. |
† 5. a. trans. To go on nipping (portions of food), to nibble; to eat. Obs.
| c 1205 Lay. 15340 Ne moste he nauere biten mete. c 1250 Bestiary 262 Ne bit ȝe nowt ðe barlic beren abuten. 1590 Spenser F.Q. i. i. 23 As gentle shepheard..Markes which doe byte their hasty supper best. |
† b. absol. or intr. Const. on, upon. Obs.
| c 1386 Chaucer Pard. Prol. 36 Her at this alestake I wil both drynke and biten on a cake. 1535 Coverd. Micah iii. 5 When they haue eny thinge to byte vpon. c 1620 Z. Boyd Zion's Flowers (1855) 49 He..Shall..neither have to bite, nor yet to sup. 1640 Bp. Hall Chr. Moder. (Ward) 28/2 Fain to bite upon beans to keep himself from sleeping. |
† c. trans. Of liquid food: To taste, to drink.
| a 1225 Ancr. R. 364. a 1300 K. Horn 1130 No beer nullich ibite Bote of coppe white. a 1300 Havelok 1731 No page so lite, That euere wolde ale bite. |
6. a. intr. Of fish: To seize or snap at the bait of the angler.
| 1653 Walton Angler 86 He thought that Trout bit not for hunger but wantonness. Ibid. 131 He will bite both at the Minnow, the Worm, and the Fly. 1711 Addison Spect. No. 108 ¶2, I intend to..see how the Perch bite in the Black River. 1878 Jevons Prim. Polit. Econ. 29 The angler..in the early morning..when the fish will bite. |
b. fig. To take or be caught by any bait. Also absol.
| 1752 Carte Hist. Eng. III. 247 The council bit eagerly at the proposal. 1786 T. Jefferson Corr. (1830) 51 Do not bite at the bait of pleasure till you know there is no hook beneath it. 1917 Wodehouse Uneasy Money ix. 99 ‘Nutty, he's bitten.’.. ‘Good gracious! What by?’ ‘You don't understand. What I meant was that I invited your Mr. Chalmers to help me open a hive, and he said {oqq}Rather!{cqq}’ 1948 D. Ballantyne Cunninghams 48 He'd just touched Sydney to start a scrap, but Sydney wouldn't bite. |
† 7. to bite in: to repress (what one has to say); to restrain (one's feelings, etc.). Obs.
| 1608 Bp. Hall Epist. i. v, How manly he could bite-in his secret want; and dissemble his over-late repentance. 1650 ― Cases Consc. 380 Content to bite in their hidden grievances. |
II. Said of other things.
8. a. trans. To cut into or penetrate as a sharp-edged weapon. Also fig.
| a 1000 Riddles (Gr.) lxxxviii. 13 Blod ut ne com..þeah mec heard bite stið-ecᵹ style. c 1374 Chaucer Anel. & Arc. 270 The swerde of sorowe byte My wooful harte. a 1450 Syr. Eglam. 490 Ther was no knyfe that wolde hym byte. 1611 Shakes. Wint. T. i. ii. 157 My Dagger muzzel'd, Least it should bite it's master. 1700 Dryden Meleager & A. 86 No sounding ax presum'd those trees to bite. 1859 Tennyson Enid 573 Who heaved his blade aloft, And crack'd the helmet thro', and bit the bone. |
b. absol. or intr.
| a 1000 Beowulf 5150 Sio ecᵹ ᵹewac bat unswiðor. c 1314 Guy Warw. 123 He hem smot With his fauchon that wele bot. c 1386 Chaucer Sqr.'s T. 150 Þoruhe oute his armour it wil kerue and bite. c 1400 Epiph. (Turnb. 1843) 743 Gret axes..full scharpe bytond. 1535 Stewart Cron. Scot. II. 35 The fedderit flanis..Outthrow thair birneis bait. 1598 Shakes. Merry W. ii. i. 136, I haue a Sword: and it shall bite vpon my necessitie. 1842 Macaulay Battle Lake Reg. viii, Camerium knows how deeply The sword of Aulus bites. |
† c. Const. in, into, to, of, on, upon. Obs.
| c 1205 Lay. 7513 Þet swerd in bat. c 1340 Gaw. & Gr. Knt. 426 Þe bit of þe broun stel bot on þe grounde. c 1386 Chaucer Knt.'s T. 1776 The jelous strokes on here helmes byte. c 1430 Syr. Tryam. 1221 To hys herte hys spere can byte. 1596 Spenser F.Q. ii. v. 7 There the steel stayd not, but inly bate Deepe in his flesh. 1634 Malory's Arthur (1816) II. 255 There would no sword bite on him, no more than upon a gad of steel. |
9. a. trans. and intr. To cause a sharp smarting pain (to): as a sharp stroke, a blister, caustic, etc.
| c 1325 E.E. Allit. P. C. 373 Heter hayrez þay hent þat asperly bited. 1377 Langl. P. Pl. B. xx. 359 Fro lenten to lenten He lat hise plastres bite. c 1485 Digby Myst. (1882) iii. 735 Thys hard balys on þi bottokkys xall byte! 1594 Lyly Moth. Bomb. i. i. 73 These medecines bite hot on great mischiefes. 1637 Rutherford Lett. lxxxiv. I. 215 Our crosses would not bite upon us if we were heavenly-minded. |
b. To make (the mouth, throat, etc.) smart.
| 1552 Huloet, Bite as..ginger and peper the tonge. 1580 Baret Alv. B 731 This mater biteth me by the stomacke. 1803 R. Dallas Hist. Maroons I. iv. 92 Offering a..man..his choice of wine or rum..he chose the latter, with this answer: ‘Oh! Sir, any thing that bites the throat.’ |
† c. intr. To have a ‘nip’; to taste of. Obs.
| 1713 Lond. & Countr. Brew. i. (1742) 47 It makes the Ale bite of the Yeast. |
10. trans. and absol. To affect painfully or injuriously with intense cold. Cf. frost-bitten.
| 1552 Huloet, Bite, as frost biteth the grasse. 1553 Eden Treat. New Ind. 19 Thei are nether bytten with colde in winter nor burnt with heate in somer. 1600 Shakes. A.Y.L. ii. vii. 186 Freize, freize, thou bitter skie that dost not bight so nigh as benefitts forgot. 1609 Dekker Guls Horn-bk. Wks. 1884–5 II. 219 Vnlesse that Freezeland Curre, cold winter, offer to bite thee. 1866 Tennyson Window, Frost is here And has bitten the heel of the going year. |
11. a. trans. and intr. To corrode, or eat into, as a strong acid or other chemical agent; to act upon chemically as a mordant.
| 1623 Favine Theat. Hon. ii. xiii. 236 An Antique inscription, but bitten and worne with age. 1677 Moxon Mech. Exerc. (1703) 242 Being washed three or four times, it Bites or Eats not, but dries quickly. 1684 T. Burnet Th. Earth II. 44 And stony mountains, which no fire can bite upon. 1822 J. Imison Sc. & Art II. 428 Those lines which are not intended to be bit any deeper must now be stopped up. 1875 Ure Dict. Arts II. 286 The sal-ammoniac..has the peculiar property of causing the aqua-fortis to bite more directly downwards. 1879 Cassell's Techn. Educ. IV. 299/2 The workman immerses the articles..in this solution, until the acid no longer ‘bites’ the metal. |
b. to bite in in Engraving: to eat out the lines of an etching on metal with an acid.
| 1821 Craig Lect. Drawing vii. 401 The cracks..when bit in, form..the grain of the work. 1875 Ure Dict. Arts II. 283 Dürer's etching appears to have been bitten in, or corroded with the acid at once. |
c. refl. (fig.)
| 1876 Geo. Eliot Dan. Der. II. xxix. 238 A man whose slight relations with her had..bitten themselves into the most permanent layers of feeling. |
d. intr. To have a (desired) adverse effect. colloq.
| 1976 in Conc. Oxf. Dict. 1979 Economist 26 May 77/2 Today's refugee problem may look like a minor inconvenience compared with the exodus that may come when the food crisis begins to bite. 1985 Times 2 Apr. 5 (heading) Danish hospitals suffer as strike bites. 1986 Ibid. 24 July 40/3 The date was March, 1983—the drought began to bite. |
12. trans. and intr. Used to express the proper or improper action of various tools, implements, and parts of mechanism, in gripping or taking hold, either by penetrating or by friction. a. Of a plough: To run too deeply into the ground. b. Of a file, saw, etc.: To make an impression upon (the substance). c. Of an anchor: To enter and take hold of the bottom. d. Of the wheels of a locomotive and other parts of machinery depending for their effectiveness upon friction: To ‘grip’ the rails or surface. e. Of a skate on the ice.
| 1523 Fitzherb. Husb. §4 A reste balke is where the plough byteth at the poynte of the culture and share, and cutteth not the ground cleane to the forowe. 1635 Swan Spec. M. vi. (1643) 291 Of such hardnesse that the file can scarcely bite it. 1762 tr. Duhamel's Husb. i. ix. (ed. 2) 49 If the share is apt to bite, or run too deep into the ground. 1769 Falconer Dict. Marine (1789), To bite, to hold fast in the ground; expressed of the anchor. 1849 J. R. Jackson Min. & Uses xxvi. 308 So hard that a steel tool will hardly bite upon it. 1864 Daily Tel. 23 Dec., The engines did not bite, owing to the ‘greasiness’ of the metals. 1883 Harper's Mag. Jan. 192 His anchor biting in the golden sand. 1884 Sunday Mag. May 307/1 The oil..prevented the driving-wheels from ‘biting.’ |
f. Typogr. (see quot.)
| 1824 J. Johnson Typogr. II. 521 He examines whether the frisket bites; that is, whether it keeps off the impression from any part of the pages. 1882 Print. Times 15 Feb. 36/1. |
g. Of a cricket ball: to get a grip of the surface of the ground on pitching.
| 1867 J. Lillywhite's Cricketers' Companion 7 If the ground is soft, slow bowlers will tell best, the ball hangs or bites. 1904 P. F. Warner Recov. Ashes iii. 56 When Jennings came in Rhodes was making the ball ‘bite’ a bit. 1960 E. W. Swanton West Indies Revisited 231 The occasional ball that hopped or bit. |
h. Palæogr. Of the strokes of part of two letters: to converge (cf. biting vbl. n. 1 b).
| 1957 N. R. Ker Catal. MSS. containing Anglo-Saxon p. xix, d and o occasionally ‘bite’..but not apparently d and e. |
13. fig. (trans. and intr.) a. To take hold of (the mind, etc.), seize, impress, come home to. arch.
| c 1325 E.E. Allit. P. A. 356 Þy prayer may his pyte byte. 1532 Frith Mirror (1829) 273, I will allege another text of the wise man, which shall..bite them better. 1535 Joye Apol. Tind. 18 This reason did so byght Tindal and stoke so fast upon him. 1642 Rogers Naaman 198 That worship which bites not the spirit, is most specious to the eye. 1627 tr. Bacon's Life & Death (1651) 24 Those thoughts, which seeing they are severed from the affairs of the world, bite not. 1864 Macm. Mag. Oct. 467 Speaking of Algebra, in comparison with..Geometry, he [Chalmers] said..he could not take to it, for he could not make it bite like the other. |
b. To exercise, excite; to worry, perturb; esp. in phr. what's biting you? colloq. (orig. U.S.).
| 1909 Sat. Even. Post 27 Mar. 7/3 Say! what's biting you? 1928 E. Scott War among Ladies ii. xii. 173 ‘What's biting her?’ she thought idly... Miss Pearson's grievances were so frequent. 1929 ‘G. Daviot’ Man in Queue v. 59 ‘Where the hell's my hat!’ ‘It's on the chair behind you,’ she said, amazed. ‘What's biting you?’ 1932 C. Williams Greater Trumps xiii. 229 I'll pop up and see what's biting him now. 1959 ‘A. Gilbert’ Death takes Wife xvii. 220 ‘What's biting Dad?’.. ‘Nothing to what'll bite you if he hears you.’ |
† 14. trans. To speak sharply or injuriously against; to calumniate (cf. backbite); to carp at. intr. To find fault sharply or severely, speak bitterly, jibe.
| 1330 R. Brunne Chron. 335 Here now þe grete despite..Þat to þer bak, gan bite of Scotlond þe clergie. 1586 T. B. La Primaud. Fr. Acad. To Rdr., Seeking out what to bite at, and to reprehend in other mens works. 1605 Verstegan Dec. Intell. (1628) Pref. Verses, If Enuie bite what thou hast here set foorth. 1683 J. Barnard Life Heylyn 40 It does not become any Son of the Church..to bite and snarl at the Name of Protestant. |
15. a. trans. (colloq.) To deceive, to overreach, ‘take in.’ Now only in pass. Cf. bite n. 9.
| 1709 Steele Tatler No. 12 He has bit you fairly enough. 1732 Pope Ep. Bathurst 143 The judge shall job, the Bishop bite the town. 1798 W. Hutton Autobiog. 31 The work⁓men saw my ignorance, and bit me as they pleased. a 1847 Mrs. Sherwood Lady of Manor V. xxxii. 330 Both parties had been in some degree bitten in the reciprocal attempt to deceive each other. 1852 Thackeray Esmond iii. iii. 340 Miss Beatrix was quite bit (as the phrase of that day was). Mod. phrase. ‘The biter bit.’ |
b. To cadge or borrow (money, etc.) from. Austral. slang.
| 1919 W. H. Downing Digger Dialects 11 Bite, to borrow. 1919 [see hum n.2]. 1934 Bulletin (Sydney) 7 Nov. 10/1 Think not I'm throwing ‘biting’ hints. 1935 Ibid. 6 Mar. 48/2 The feud had begun when the bagmen sallied forth to ‘bite’ the town for old coats. 1941 K. Tennant Battlers vi. 63 The Stray trotted back bemoaning her lack of success in ‘biting’ housewives. It was only dole-day, and those wise women knew that travellers could not be really destitute. |
16. Phrases. † to bite upon the bridle: to champ the bit like a restless horse, to wait impatiently; to bite the dust, ground, sand, etc.: to fall in death, to die; also, to fall to the ground, to fall wounded; to be abased; also fig.; to bite the lip, or (obs.) bite upon the lips: to press the lip between the teeth, in order to restrain the expression of anger or mirth; † to bite one's tongue: to hold it between the teeth so as to repress speech (cf. ‘to hold one's tongue’); † to bite the thumb at: ‘to threaten or defie by putting the thumbe naile into the mouth, and with a ierke (from the upper teeth) make it to knack,’ (Cotgr. s.v. Nique); to give the ‘fico,’ to insult; † to bite the teeth: to gnash or grind them; to bite one's ear or bite one by the ear, † (a) i.e. as a sign of fondness, to caress fondly; (b) (slang), to borrow money from (someone); cf. 15 b and bite n. 1 i; to bite one's head (or nose) off: to snap one's head off (see snap v. 7 b); to bite the hand that feeds one: to injure a benefactor; to act ungratefully; to bite off more than one can chew (orig. U.S.): to undertake too much, to be too ambitious; to bite (on) the bullet: to behave courageously; to avoid showing fear or distress.
| 1330 R. Brunne Chron. 155 Philip bote on his lippe. 1362 Langl. P. Pl. B. v. 84 His body was to-bolle for wratthe þat he bote his lippes. 1475 Caxton Jason (1477) 52 He frowned..and bote on his lippe. 1514 Barclay Cyt. & Uplondyshm. (1847) 41 These courtiers..Smelling those dishes, they bite upon the bridle. 1535 Coverdale Lament. ii. 16 Thine enemies..bytinge their teth sayenge: let vs deuoure. 1592 Shakes. Rom. & Jul. i. i. 58 No, sir, I do not bite my Thumbe at you sir: but I bite my Thumbe sir. 1592 Ibid. ii. iv. 81, I will bite thee by the eare for that iest. 1593 ― 2 Hen. VI, i. i. 230 So Yorke must sit, and fret, and bite his tongue. 1599 [see nose n. 9 c]. 1600 Abp. Abbot Exp. Jonah 342 Bite upon the bridle, that..he may be wiser afterward. 1610 B. Jonson Alch. ii. iii, Slave, I could bite thine Ear. 1611 Cotgr., Mordre l'oreille à, as much as flatter ou caresser mignonnement, wherein the biting of th' eare is, with some, an vsuall Action. 1613 Shakes. Hen. VIII, iii. ii. 113 He bites his lip, and starts, Stops on a sodaine. 1697 Dryden Virg. æneid xi. 528 So many Valiant Heros bite the Ground. 1718 Pope Iliad v. 51 First Odius falls, and bites the bloody sand. 1750 Smollett Gil Blas I. iii. ii. 223 We made two of them bite the dust, and the others betake themselves to flight. 1770 Burke Pres. Discont. 3 This..proposition..that we set ourselves to bite the hand that feeds us; that with..insanity we oppose the measures..whose sole object is our own peace and prosperity. a 1771 Gray Poems, Ode viii, Soon a King shall bite the ground. 1813 Byron Giaour xxii, The foremost Tartar bites the ground! 1820 Keats Isabella xxii, And many times they bit their lips alone. 1855 Golden Era 18 Mar. 1/5 We..made one bite the dust every crack. 1856 [see dust n.1 4]. 1857 Trollope Barchester T. III. xiii. 229 That ecclesiastical knight before whose lance Mr. Slope was to fall and bite the dust. 1857 Lytton What will he do with It? iii. iv. in Blackw. Mag. Sept. 301/2 He will never bite the hand that feeds him now. 1857 Dickens Dorrit ii. xv. 456 You make one bite your head off, when one wants to be soothing beyond everything. 1870 Bryant Iliad I. ii. 55 May his fellow warriors..Fall round him to the earth and bite the dust. 1878 J. H. Beadle Western Wilds ii. 42 You've bit off more'n you can chaw. 1879 Macm. Mag. Oct. 502/1 He used to want to bite my ear (borrow) too often. 1887 Lantern (New Orleans) 5 Mar. 3/1 If he ain't careful, he'll bite the dust [get broke and go begging]. 1891 Kipling Light that Failed xi. 219 Bite on the bullet, old man, and don't let them think you're afraid. 1916 G. B. Shaw Pygmalion 195 The mistake we describe metaphorically as ‘biting off more than they can chew’. 1923 Wodehouse Inimit. Jeeves ii. 27 Brace up and bite the bullet. I'm afraid I've bad news for you. 1925 ― Carry on, Jeeves! ii. 36 His principal source of income..was derived from biting the ear of a rich uncle. 1927 H. T. Lowe-Porter tr. Mann's Magic Mountain I. v. 282 Thus ungrateful is immature youth! It takes all that is offered, and bites the hand that feeds it. 1940 Wodehouse Eggs, Beans & Crumpets 229, I was not dreaming of biting your ear... What I require is something far beyond your power to supply. Five pounds at least. 1943 S. V. Benét Western Star 70 The treacherous redskins always bite the dust. 1946 R. Lehmann Gipsy's Baby 126 He'd bite my head off if I asked him to come on the committee. 1955 Times 11 May 14/6 ‘Better men than Mr. Strachey have bit the dust in Dundee,’ was how the Tory hopes were summed up by one Conservative. a 1960 J. L. Austin Sense & Sensibilia (1962) i. 1 They [sc. doctrines] all bite off more than they can chew. |
▸ trans. N. Amer. slang. to bite the big one. a. Of a situation, object, etc.: to be contemptible, awful, or unpleasant.
| 1974 D. Mamet Sexual Perversity in Chicago (Typescript, N.Y. Public Library) 34 I'm a big fan of society..but this bites the big one. 1982 A. R. Gurney Dining Room 48 The whole thing bites, Helen... It bites the big one. 1990 Toronto Star (Nexis) 23 Oct. d2 Most of what was left in [the show] bit the big one. 2006 People (Electronic ed.) 30 Jan. 47 Cell phones bite the big one. |
b. To die; (fig.) to stop functioning or existing.
| 1979T. Bozzio What ever Happened in F. Zappa Sheik Yerbouti (cassette cover) Larry's not with us any more, he went on y'know... He bit the big one. 1995 Macworld (Electronic ed.) Mar. 157 Word is the closest thing to a standard since the original MacWrite bit the big one. 1996 T. Clancy Executive Orders xxix. 384 The Premier of Turkmenistan bit the big one, supposedly an automobile accident. 2005 Home News Tribune (E. Brunswick, New Jersey) (Nexis) 5 Aug. e2 Wednesday night, the A/C bit the big one. |
▸ intr. slang (chiefly N. Amer.). Of a situation, object, etc.: to be contemptible, awful, or unpleasant; = suck v. 15f. Cf. to bite the big one at Additions.
| 1975 National Lampoon Sept. 53/1 The activities on campus really bite. 1986 R. Merkin Zombie Jamboree xxv. 279, I think it bites. 1995 Calgary Herald (Nexis) 25 Mar. c20 Rise of the Triad doesn't totally bite, but there's not much point in getting it if you've already played Doom. 2001 J. Ellroy Cold Six Thousand lxxxiii. 450 Agreed: Bob Relyea bites. |
▪ II. bite, n.
(baɪt)
Also 5 byte.
[f. bite v. Taking the place of bit n.1 and n.2, in several of their original and more literal senses, first in 15th c. in sense 1, and at various later dates in the other senses. (As bit was earlier spelt bite, with short ĭ, it is not possible always to distinguish the two words, at the period when bīte was coming in.)]
1. a. The act or action of cutting, piercing, or wounding, with the teeth; also fig.
| 1499 Promp. Parv. (Pynson), Byte, morsus. 1570 Levins Manip. 150 A Byte, morsus, rictus. 1697 Dryden Virg. Georg. ii. 522 Their venom'd Bite [durique venenum Dentis]. 1735 Pope Prol. Sat. 106 Of all mad creatures..It is the slaver kills, and not the bite. 1799 Southey King Crocod. ii, King Crocodile..show'd his teeth, but he miss'd his bite. Mod. Provb. His bark is worse than his bite. |
b. The keen cutting effect of a harsh wind.
| 1881 Daily Tel. 28 Jan., A thin scattering of sleet in the air which gave a peculiar edge to the bite of the wind. |
c. The action of a machine indenting metal, etc.
| 1876 E. Clark Japan 192 Stamping machines..closed upon each of them [blank coins] with a ‘bite.’ |
d. The corrosive action of acid upon the metal plate in etching.
| 1875 Ure Dict. Arts II. 286 If..the engraver finds that the acid has acted as he wishes, he has secured what is technically termed ‘a good bite.’ |
e. A downward jerk of a horse's head.
| 1861 G. J. Whyte-Melville Market Harb. xii. (ed. 12) 98 ‘Hold up, you brute,’ he added, as Hotspur made an egregious ‘bite,’ that nearly landed him on his nose. |
f. = occlusion 3. Also, the imprint of the occlusion in a plastic material.
| 1848 J. Tomes Lect. Dental Physiol. & Surg. xvi. 367 The bite, or closure of the upper and under teeth, must be adjusted. 1878 C. Hunter Mech. Dentistry vi. 74 (heading) Taking the ‘Bite’ in wax and plaster. Ibid. 79 Bites..may be cast by first cutting a perpendicular groove on the back of the model, then filling plaster into the impression of the teeth in the wax block. 1880 N. W. Kingsley Treatise on Oral Deformities v. 84 The object was, not to protrude the lower teeth, but to change or jump the bite in the case of an excessively retreating lower jaw. 1902 [see occlusion]. 1904 V. H. Jackson Orthodontia xi. 201 An apparatus..was utilized for opening the bite and moving the upper incisors outward. 1968 J. Woodforde False Teeth 126 Having decided which is the proper relationship, or bite, the dentist attaches the upper and lower casts of the jaw to a machine called an articulator, which reproduces chewing motions. |
g. Cricket. The quality in a cricket-pitch that helps a ball to ‘bite’ (see bite v. 12 g).
| 1905 Daily Chron. 5 May 8/3 Aided by the trifle of ‘bite’ in the pitch, the Surrey bowler always appeared likely to get wickets. |
h. fig. Incisiveness, pungency; point or cogency of style, language, etc.
| 1899 R. Whiteing No. 5 John St. xxiii. 228 There seems no ‘bite’ in their pretty ways, their soft voices, their allusive turns of phrase. 1921 J. Agate in Sat. Rev. 24 Dec. 708/2, I want to hear..common Spanish speech interpreted and made real. I want tang and bite which I can translate into actuality. 1939 Punch 11 Oct. 398/1 There is an unexpected and genuine satirical bite in the whole treatment of the story. 1946 H. Foss in A. L. Bacharach Brit. Music iv. 70 The quality of ‘bite’, of urgency, or, as I would call it, of single-minded artistic sincerity. 1957 Listener 19 Sept. 416/1 The party's election propaganda lacked bite and purpose. |
i. Slang phr. to put the bite on: to borrow money from (someone); to ask (someone) for a loan; also, to threaten, to blackmail, to extort money from. orig. and chiefly U.S.
| 1933 D. Runyon Furthermore (1938) v. 81 He once tries to put the bite on Sorrowful for a sawbuck. 1934 Wodehouse Thank You, Jeeves v. 61 For years and years I have been trying to lend him of my plenty, but he has always steadfastly refused to put the bite on me. 1939 R. Chandler Big Sleep xxvi. 232 You can put the bite on the peeper and be on your way. 1950 ‘S. Ransome’ Deadly Miss Ashley iii. 33 Everybody keeps putting the bite on me for money I haven't got. |
2. a. The biting of food or victuals; concr. food to eat; chiefly in the phrase bite and sup. Also, a small meal; a snack.
| 1562 J. Heywood Prov. & Epigr. (1867) 34 One peny..That euer might either make me bite or sup. 1816 Scott Old Mort. vi, There's puir distressed whigs enow about the country will be glad to do that for a bite and a soup. 1861 M. E. Braddon Trail Serpent vi. vi. 301 He had lain concealed for fourteen days without either bite or sup. 1899 Ade Fables in Slang (1900) 188 He would be reading the Menu Card to her, and telling her how different it is when you have Some One to join you in a Bite. 1929 ‘G. Daviot’ Man in Queue iv. 46 Have a bite before you go to bed. 1952 M. Laski Village xi. 166 Come back for a bite, just a scratch meal. 1959 ‘C. Carnac’ Death of Lady Killer xi. 124, I..had a bite with my friend at the fish and chips stall. |
b. The biting of grass; herbage to bite.
| 1765 Tucker Lt. Nat. I. 618 Little seeds, each whereof cannot throw up herbage enough to make a bite for a sheep. 1799 J. Robertson Agric. Perth 302 It..gives sheep a good bite early in the season. 1834 Brit. Husb. I. viii. 216 They are then again turned out as soon as there is a bite of grass in the spring. 1881 Daily News 4 June 5/5 Grass lands were terribly backward; there was little bite for cattle. |
3. Angling. The seizure of the bait by a fish.
| 1653 Walton Angler 169, I have knowne a very good Fisher angle..for three or four dayes together for a River Carp, and not have a bite. 1836 Marryat Midsh. Easy vi, I have another bite..ah! he's off again. 1863 Burton Bk. Hunter 102 The chance of these excites him, like the angler's bites and rises, and gives its zest to the pursuit. |
4. a. A piece bitten off (usually to eat); a mouthful.
| 1535 Stewart Cron. Scot. III. 476 To mak him remeid, Or him support with ane byte of gra breid. 1784 Mrs. A. Adams Lett. (1848) 203 Although he longs for a morsel, he has not yet agreed for a single bite. a 1817 Ballad ‘Susan Pye’ xx. ibid. 472/2 Tell him to send one bite of bread. 1827 Scott Two Drovers Take it all, man—take it all—never make two bites of a cherry. |
b. A share (of profits, etc.), a ‘cut’; an exaction or amount exacted. N. Amer. slang.
| 1925 Dialect Notes V. 326 Bite, share of money. 1946 Sun (Baltimore) 5 Aug. 12/5 Some turfmen have openly predicted that the tax, which increases the total official ‘bite’ on the betting handle to about 16 per cent. would threaten the future of racing at the Spa. 1968 Globe & Mail (Toronto) 17 Feb. 8/1 Horsemen have agreed to boycott Assiniboia Downs..until the provincial Government reduces its bite on the pari-mutuel intake. 1976 National Observer (U.S.) 24 Jan. 20/3 Whatever the price, the weekly bite goes on... A hundred pesos for water [etc.]. |
† 5. Thieves' slang. Cash, money. Obs. Cf. bit n.2 8 a.
| 1532 Dice Play (1850) 30 So proud..because he hath gotten a new chain..and some store of byte. 1592 Greene Def. Conny-catch. Wks. 1881–3 XI. 44 Some..would venter all the byte in their boung at dice. |
6. A wound made with the teeth.
| 1736 Bailey, Bite, an hurt made by the teeth. 1766 Goldsm. Elegy Mad Dog, The man recovered of the bite, The dog it was that died. 1830 Tennyson Dream Fair Women 160 Thereto [her breast] she pointed with a laugh, Showing the aspick's bite. 1838 Penny Cycl. XII. 400/1 The bite of a rabid animal generally heals up like that of a healthy one. |
7. The grip or hold of an edge surface in various mechanical contrivances. Also fig.
| 1865 Masson Rec. Brit. Philos. iii. 176 His system..may have lost its bite upon the British mind. Mod. In wet weather sand is sprinkled under the wheels of a locomotive to increase their bite upon the rails. |
8. Typogr. A blank left in printing through the accidental covering of a portion of the ‘forme’ by the frisket.
| 1677 Moxon Mech. Exerc. in Savage Dict. Print. s.v. Bite, If the frisket is not sufficiently cut away, but covers some part of the form, so that it prints on the frisket, it is called a bite. 1882 Blades Caxton 130 In ‘Speculum Vitæ Christi’ we actually find ‘a bite,’ half of the bottom line remaining unprinted. |
† 9. slang. a. An imposition, a deception; what is now called a ‘sell’; passing from the notion of playful imposition or hoax, to that of swindle or fraud. Obs. (Cf. biter, 2.)
| 1711 Steele Spect. No. 156 ¶2 It was a common Bite with him, to lay Suspicions that he was favoured by a Lady's Enemy. 1726 Amherst Terræ Fil. ix. 43 Sharpers would not frequent gaming-tables, if the men of fortune knew the bite. 1755 M. Masters Lett. & Poems 260 What the witlings term'd Bite in the Spectator's time is now call'd Humbug. 1815 Scott Guy M. iii, What were then called bites and bams, since denominated hoaxes and quizzes. 1860 Sat. Rev. 14 Apr. 475/2 That form of practical joking which in the time of ‘The Spectator,’ was known as a bite..in the popular slang of the day, is designated ‘a sell.’ |
b. A sharper, a swindler: see also quot. 1846.
| 1742 Fielding Miss Lucy (1762) 176 Is this wench an idiot, or a bite? marry me, with a pox! a 1787 S. Jenyns in Dodsley III. 169 The fool would fain be thought a bite. 1846 Brackenridge Mod. Chiv. 21 The jockeys suspected that the horse was what they call a bite, that under the appearance of leanness and stiffness, was concealed some hidden quality of swiftness. |
10. slang. A nickname for a Yorkshireman. (Origin disputed: see Daily News 11 Sept. 1883; Yorksh. Post 9 Jan. 1884.)
| 1883 Daily News 4 Sept. 5/6 The great and puissant race known indifferently as ‘tykes’ or ‘bites.’ |
11. Comb. bite-beast (nonce-wd.), a beast that bites; bite-free a., free from, or not liable to, bites; biteless a., that does not bite, unbiting.
| 1730 Southall Bugs 30 They will no longer think themselves bite-free. 1850 Blackie æschylus I. 163 A torpedo, that with biteless touch Strikes numb who handles. 1877 Browning Agamem., Calling her the hateful bite-beast. 1884 Century Mag. XXVII. 780 Speechless and biteless. |
Add: [11.] bite-size(d a., small enough to be eaten at one bite; also fig.
| 1953 U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service Special Sci. Rep.: Fisheries civ. 60 In 1948, the first pack of chunk style or *bite-size tuna was marketed. 1976 S9 (N.Y.) Feb. 51/3 (Advt.), Read about the ‘bite-size’ lessons, self-pacing, and ‘power-on’ training. 1985 Eating Out in London 26/1 Aspects of nouvelle cuisine that we all hate (the bite-size portions..the ubiquitous Kiwi fruit). 1962 L. Deighton Ipcress File xx. 128 Small *bite-sized pieces of Hungarian ran like strands of a web across the clipped Harvard speech. 1969 New Scientist 29 May 469/1 Cheese sandwiches wrapped in bite-sized portions. 1984 K. Hom Chinese Cookery 53 Chinese food is always cut into bite-sized pieces. |
▸ Strong flavour, esp. spiciness or pungency. Also as a count noun: an instance of this.
| 1955 N.Y. Times 11 June 13/3 Another version of coppa with more of a bite to it is cured with tiny, red hot peppers. 1979 Harrowsmith Nov. 55/1 An indelicate delicacy, ramps are highly esteemed by mountain farmers for their garlic-like potency. Cooking mellows the bite. 1985 Financial Times (Nexis) 23 Dec. p. xii, A perfect please—all light red with some bite and lots of ripe fruit but no uncomfortable tannin. 2002 Baker's Catal. Jan. 15/1 With its cloudy texture and very slight ‘bite’ in the aftertaste, this oil evokes the essence of olives. |
▸ Cookery. A slight firmness of texture or resistance to chewing, such as results from cooking al dente.
| 1970 Syracuse (N.Y.) Herald Amer. 30 Aug. 18/2, I like my pasta to be what the Italians call al dente (in the tooth), or with a little bite to it, not mushy or soft. 1980 Washington Post (Nexis) 17 Jan. 11 Zio's could enhance its pastas by serving them..cooked just to the point of being fork tender but not soft, so there's a bit of ‘bite’ left in them. 1999 BBC Vegetarian Good Food Apr. 36/3 The rice should be tender and creamy, but retain some bite. |
▸ bite indicator n. Angling any of various devices used to alert the angler to a bite on a line.
| 1880 Baily's Mag. Sept. 84, I found the *bite indicator at the top of my rod show that a fish had the bait. 2006 Daily Tel. (Nexis) 10 June 1 The carp fanatic lives in a bivvy with a sleeping-bag, cooking stove and two rods rigged to electronic bite-indicators. |