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bite

biteverb

American /baɪt/ British /baɪt/

third-person singular bites past tense bit past participle bitten present participle biting

very commondefining vocabulary

with teethuse your teeth to cut, hold, or hurt something
transitive or intransitive [T/I] verb + object [V + obj]
- The dog bit the mail carrier on the leg. V + obj
- She took a big bite out of the apple. (with take and the noun bite)
- Be careful; that horse bites.
- He bit into the sandwich before it was even on the plate. V + prep + obj
Collocations
verb + preposition bite into something, bite through something
Compare chew (you bite off a piece with your front teeth, then chew it with the back teeth before swallowing)
1. a(of an insect) cut or hurt the skin with the mouth in order to feed on blood
  transitive [T] verb + object [V + obj]
  - I got bitten by mosquitoes all night. (passive)
  - Something has bitten my ankle. V + obj
  Collocations
  noun + verb a mosquito bites, an ant bites
affect badlyhave a sudden unpleasant effect, especially a financial one
intransitive [I] informal
- Higher prices are starting to bite for a lot of families.
- The new tax rules will really bite next year.
Collocations
phrase start to bite, really bite

Phrases

bite someone's head off informal

speak angrily to someone who has done nothing wrong

I only asked a question, and she bit my head off.
There's no need to bite his head off; it was an honest mistake.

what's biting you? informal

used to ask why someone seems annoyed or upset

What's biting you today? You seem upset.
You've been quiet all morning; what's biting you?

bite the bullet informal

make yourself do something difficult or unpleasant that you do not want to do

I finally bit the bullet and booked the dentist appointment.
The company had to bite the bullet and raise its prices.

bite your tongue informal

stop yourself from saying something, especially something angry or unkind

I wanted to argue, but I bit my tongue and said nothing.
Sometimes it's better to bite your tongue than to start a fight.

bite off more than you can chew informal

try to do something that is too difficult or too big for you

He bit off more than he could chew when he agreed to run the whole event alone.
I think we bit off more than we could chew with this project.

Word family

bite (a mosquito bite, take a bite)

Common mistakes

The dog has bit me. The dog has bitten me.
The past participle used after have is bitten, not bit.

For translators

Grammar trap Irregular: bite, bit, bitten.