American Heritage Dictionary Entry: bite HOW TO USE THE DICTIONARY To look up an entry in The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language, use the search window above. For best results, after typing in the word, click on the “Search” button instead of using the “enter” key. Some compound words (like bus rapid transit, dog whistle, or identity theft) don’t appear on the drop-down list when you type them in the search bar. For best results with compound words, place a quotation mark before the compound word in the search window. guide to the dictionary THE USAGE PANEL The Usage Panel is a group of nearly 200 prominent scholars, creative writers, journalists, diplomats, and others in occupations requiring mastery of language. Annual surveys have gauged the acceptability of particular usages and grammatical constructions. The Panelists NEED HELP SOLVING A CROSSWORD PUZZLE? Go to our Crossword Puzzle Solver and type in the letters that you know, and the Solver will produce a list of possible solutions. -- AMERICAN HERITAGE DICTIONARY APP The new American Heritage Dictionary app is now available for iOS and Android. THE AMERICAN HERITAGE DICTIONARY BLOG The articles in our blog examine new words, revised definitions, interesting images from the fifth edition, discussions of usage, and more. OPEN DICTIONARY PROJECT Share your ideas for new words and new meanings of old words! Start Sharing Now! -- See word lists from the best-selling 100 Words Series! Find out more! INTERESTED IN DICTIONARIES? Check out the Dictionary Society of North America at http://www.dictionarysociety.com bite (bīt) Share: Tweet v. bit (bĭt), bit·ten (bĭtn) or bit, bit·ing, bites v.tr. 1. To cut, grip, or tear with or as if with the teeth. 2. a. To pierce the skin of with the teeth, fangs, or mouthparts. b. To sting with a stinger. 3. To cut into with or as if with a sharp instrument: The axe bit the log deeply. 4. To grip, grab, or seize: bald treads that couldn't bite the icy road; bitten by a sudden desire to travel. 5. To eat into; corrode. 6. To cause to sting or be painful: cold that bites the skin; a conscience bitten by remorse. v.intr. 1. To grip, cut into, or injure something with or as if with the teeth. 2. To have a stinging effect. 3. To have a sharp taste. 4. To take or swallow bait. 5. To be taken in by a ploy or deception: tried to sell the Brooklyn Bridge, but no one bit. 6. Vulgar Slang To be highly disagreeable or annoying. n. 1. The act of biting. 2. A skin wound or puncture produced by an animal's teeth or mouthparts: the bite of an insect. 3. a. A stinging or smarting sensation. b. An incisive, penetrating quality: the bite of satire. 4. An amount removed by or as if by an act of biting: Rezoning took a bite out of the town's residential area. 5. An excerpt or fragment taken from something larger, such as a film. 6. a. An amount of food taken into the mouth at one time; a mouthful. b. Informal A light meal or snack. 7. The act or an instance of taking bait: fished all day without a bite; an ad that got a few bites but no final sales. 8. a. A secure grip or hold applied by a tool or machine upon a working surface. b. The part of a tool or machine that presses against and maintains a firm hold on a working surface. 9. Dentistry The angle at which the upper and lower teeth meet; occlusion. 10. The corrosive action of acid upon an etcher's metal plate. 11. Slang An amount of money appropriated or withheld: trying to avoid the tax bite.Idioms: bite off more than (one) can chew To decide or agree to do more than one can finally accomplish. bite (someone's) head off To respond to a comment in an angry or reproachful way. bite the bullet Slang To face a painful situation bravely and stoically. bite the dust Slang 1. To fall dead, especially in combat. 2. To be defeated. 3. To come to an end. bite the hand that feeds (one) To repay generosity or kindness with ingratitude and injury. [Middle English biten, from Old English bītan; see bheid- in the Appendix of Indo-European roots.] bita·ble, bitea·ble adj. biter n. The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition copyright ©2022 by HarperCollins Publishers. All rights reserved. Indo-European & Semitic Roots Appendices Thousands of entries in the dictionary include etymologies that trace their origins back to reconstructed proto-languages. You can obtain more information about these forms in our online appendices: Indo-European Roots Semitic Roots The Indo-European appendix covers nearly half of the Indo-European roots that have left their mark on English words. A more complete treatment of Indo-European roots and the English words derived from them is available in our Dictionary of Indo-European Roots. 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