bribe

bribe

 

bribe [bribe bribes bribed bribing] noun, verb   [braɪb]    [braɪb] 

noun

a sum of money or sth valuable that you give or offer to sb to persuade them to help you, especially by doing sth dishonest

• It was alleged that he had taken bribes while in office.

• She had been offered a $50 000 bribe to drop the charges.

 

Word Origin:

late Middle English: from Old French briber, brimber ‘beg’, of unknown origin. The original sense was ‘rob, extort’, hence (as a noun) ‘theft, stolen goods’, also ‘money extorted or demanded for favours’, later ‘offer money as an incentive’ (early 16th cent.).

 

Thesaurus:

bribe noun C

• She was offered a large bribe to drop the charges.

inducement • • bait • |especially AmE kickback • |informal, usually disapproving pay-off •

£1 000/$500, etc. bribe/pay-off

offer (sb) a/an bribe/inducement/pay-off

take bribes/the bait/kickbacks

 

Collocations:

Crime

Committing a crime

commit a crime/a murder/a violent assault/a brutal killing/an armed robbery/fraud

be involved in terrorism/a suspected arson attack/people smuggling/human trafficking

engage/participate in criminal activity/illegal practices/acts of mindless vandalism

steal sb's wallet/purse/(BrE) mobile phone/(NAmE) cell phone

rob a bank/a person/a tourist

break into/ (BrE) burgle/ (NAmE) burglarize a house/a home/an apartment

hijack a plane/ship/bus

smuggle drugs/weapons/arms/immigrants

launder drug money (through sth)

forge documents/certificates/passports

take/accept/pay sb/offer (sb) a bribe

run a phishing/an email/an Internet scam

Fighting crime

combat/fight crime/terrorism/corruption/drug trafficking

prevent/stop credit-card fraud/child abuse/software piracy

deter/stop criminals/burglars/thieves/shoplifters/vandals

reduce/tackle/crack down on knife/gun/violent/street crime; (especially BrE) antisocial behaviour

foil a bank raid/a terrorist plot

help/support/protect the victims of crime

Investigating crime

report a crime/a theft/a rape/an attack/(especially BrE) an incident to the police

witness the crime/attack/murder/incident

investigate a murder/(especially NAmE) a homicide/a burglary/a robbery/the alleged incident

conduct/launch/pursue an investigation (into…); (especially BrE) a police/murder inquiry

investigate/reopen a criminal/murder case

examine/investigate/find fingerprints at the crime scene/the scene of crime

collect/gather forensic evidence

uncover new evidence/a fraud/a scam/a plot/a conspiracy/political corruption/a cache of weapons

describe/identify a suspect/the culprit/the perpetrator/the assailant/the attacker

question/interrogate a suspect/witness

solve/crack the case

more collocations at justice 

 

Example Bank:

• He paid out millions of dollars in bribes.

• a bribe of €200

• He was alleged to have accepted bribes while in office.

• The company denied that the money was intended as a bribe.

• The tax cut was described as a pre-election bribe.

 

verb

to give sb money or sth valuable in order to persuade them to help you, especially by doing sth dishonest

• ~ sb (with sth) They bribed the guards with cigarettes.

• ~ sb into doing sth She was bribed into handing over secret information.

• ~ sb to do sth She bribed him to sign the certificate.

• ~ your way… He managed to bribe his way onto the ship.

 

 

Word Origin:

late Middle English: from Old French briber, brimber ‘beg’, of unknown origin. The original sense was ‘rob, extort’, hence (as a noun) ‘theft, stolen goods’, also ‘money extorted or demanded for favours’, later ‘offer money as an incentive’ (early 16th cent.).

 

Example Bank:

• He must have bribed his way out of the prison.

• He managed to bribe his way onto the ship.