bite

1 verb past tense bit, past participle bitten

1 WITH YOUR TEETH (I, T) to cut or crush something with your teeth: Be careful! My dog bites. | Do you bite your fingernails?

(+ into/through): biting into a juicy apple | They had to bite through the rope to escape. | bite sth off: a man whose arm had been bitten off by an alligator

2 INSECT/SNAKE (I, T) if an insect or snake bites you, it injures you by making a hole in your skin: I was bitten all over by mosquitoes.

3 FISH (I) if a fish bites, it takes food from a hook and so gets caught

4 NOT SLIP (I) to hold firmly to a surface, or rest firmly against it; grip 2 (1)

(+ into): The ski's edge should bite into the snow.

5 HAVE AN EFFECT (I) to have the effect that was intended, especially an unpleasant one: The new tobacco taxes have begun to bite.

6 bite your tongue to try hard to stop yourself from saying what you really think: She was really making me angry, but I bit my tongue.

7 bite the dust

a) to die, fail, or be defeated: a welfare programme that bit the dust following budget cuts

b) to stop working completely: My old car's finally bitten the dust.

8 bite the bullet informal to bravely accept something unpleasant: Decisions have to be taken, and as director you have to bite the bullet.

9 bite sb's head off informal to answer someone or speak to them very angrily, when there is no good reason for doing this: I asked if she needed any help, and she bit my head off!

10 bite off more than you can chew to try to do more than you are able to do

11 he/she won't bite spoken used to say that there is no need to be afraid of someone, especially someone in authority: Well go and ask him - he won't bite!

12 what's biting you/her etc? spoken used to ask why someone is annoyed or upset

13 once bitten twice shy used to say that if you have failed or been hurt once, you will be very careful next time

14 bite the hand that feeds you to harm someone who has treated you well or supported you

15 be bitten by the bug/craze etc to develop a very strong interest in or desire for something: By then she had been bitten by the travel bug, and could not wait to go again.

bite back phrasal verb

1 (transitive bite something back) to stop yourself from saying something or telling someone what you really feel: She bit back the insult that rose to her lips.

2 (I) to react strongly and angrily when someone criticizes you: Determined to bite back at car thieves, he wired his Sierra Cosworth to an electric fence.

bite into sth phrasal verb (T) to cut or press hard against a surface: The knotted cord bit into my skin. 2 noun

1 WITH YOUR TEETH (C) the act of cutting or crushing something with your teeth: give sb a bite: The cat gave Mike a playful bite. | have/take a bite of (=bite a small piece from a larger piece of food): Can I have a bite of your apple?

2 WOUND (C) a wound made when an animal or insect bites you: My face was covered in mosquito bites!

3 a bite (to eat) spoken a small meal: I haven't had a bite to eat all day. | Let's grab a bite at the airport.

4 COLD (singular) a feeling of coldness: There's a real bite in the air tonight.

5 TASTE (U) a pleasantly sharp or bitter taste: I like cheese with a bit of bite.

6 EFFECTIVENESS (U) a special quality in a piece of speech or writing that makes its arguments or criticisms effective and likely to persuade people: a political satire that lacked bite

7 FISH (C) an occasion when a fish takes the food from a hook: Sometimes I sit for hours and never get a bite.

8 bite-size/bite-sized the right size to fit into your mouth easily: Cut them into bite-size pieces before serving.

9 another bite/a second bite at the cherry BrE a second chance to do something