I Bit Bitten Bite Baɪt Dog Stop Unpleasant

• does your dog bite?
• come here! i won't bite! (= you don't need to be afraid)
• she bit into a ripe juicy pear.
• she was bitten by the family dog.

bite

Verb Forms

1. to use your teeth to cut into or through something
• Does your dog bite?
• Come here! I won't bite! (= you don't need to be afraid)
• She bit into a ripe juicy pear.
• She was bitten by the family dog.
• Stop biting your nails!
• He bit off a large chunk of bread/He bit a large chunk of bread off.

Extra Examples

• The dog had bitten right through its rope.
• He bit at his lower lip.
2. to wound somebody by making a small hole or mark in their skin
• Most European spiders don't bite.
• We were badly bitten by mosquitoes.
3. if a fish bites, it takes food from the end of a fishing line and may get caught
4. to have an unpleasant effect
• The recession is beginning to bite.
5. to develop a strong interest in or enthusiasm for something
• He's been bitten by the travel bug.
6. to start to deal with an unpleasant or difficult situation which cannot be avoided
• I wasn’t happy with the way my career was going so I decided to bite the bullet and look for another job.
7. to fail, or to be defeated or destroyed
• Thousands of small businesses bite the dust every year.
8. to die
9. to harm somebody who has helped you or supported you
10. to shout at somebody in an angry way, especially without reason
11. to stop yourself from saying something or from showing an emotion
• I bit my lip and forced myself to be calm.
12. to try to do too much, or something that is too difficult
13. to stop yourself from saying something that might upset somebody or cause an argument, although you want to speak
• I didn't believe her explanation but I bit my tongue.
14. alcohol that you drink in order to make you feel better when you have drunk too much alcohol the night before
15. after an unpleasant experience you are careful to avoid something similar

Word Origin

• Old English bītan, of Germanic origin; related to Dutch bijten and German beissen.