bite 1 S2 / baɪt / 动词 ( past tense bit / bɪt / , past participle bitten / bɪtn / , present participle biting )

1 teeth [不及物和及物动词] to use your teeth to cut, crush, or chew something :

The dog bit him and made his hand bleed.

bite into/through/at/down

She bit into a croissant and took a sip of coffee.

An adult conger eel can easily bite through a man’s leg.

Nina pushed her fist into her mouth and bit down hard .

bite something off

a man whose arm was bitten off by an alligator

bite your nails (= bite the nails on your fingers, especially because you are nervous )

I wish I could stop biting my nails.

bite your lip (= because you are upset or not sure what to say )

She paused uncertainly, biting her lip.

2 insect/snake [不及物和及物动词] to injure someone by making a hole in their skin → sting :

I think I’ve been bitten.

The dog’s been badly bitten by fleas.

3 press hard [不及物动词] if an object bites into a surface, it presses firmly into it and does not move or slip

bite into

The hooves of the galloping horses had bitten deep into the soft earth.

He wore boots that bit into the ice.

4 effect [不及物动词] to start to have an unpleasant effect :

The new tobacco taxes have begun to bite.

bite into

The recession is biting into the music industry.

5 accept [不及物动词] to believe what someone tells you, or to buy something they are selling, especially when they have persuaded you to do this :

The new camcorders were withdrawn after consumers failed to bite.

6 fish [不及物动词] if a fish bites, it takes food from a hook and so gets caught :

The fish just aren’t biting today.

7 bite your tongue to stop yourself from saying what you really think, even though this is difficult :

She should have bitten her tongue.

8 bite the dust informal to die, fail, or be defeated :

Italy’s championship hopes eventually bit the dust.

9 bite the bullet informal to start dealing with an unpleasant or dangerous situation because you cannot avoid it any longer :

I finally bit the bullet and left.

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 somebody/something bites spoken not polite used to say that you dislike someone or something very much or think that something is very bad

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

15 bite the hand that feeds you to harm someone who has helped or supported you

16 be bitten by the showbiz/travel/flying etc bug to develop a very strong interest in something

→ bite sb’s head off at head 1 ( 33 ) , → nail-biting

THESAURUS

bite to use your teeth to cut, crush, or chew something : The dog bit me! | I sometimes bite my fingernails when I’m nervous. | He bit into the apple.

chew to keep biting something that is in your mouth : Helen was chewing a piece of gum. | He was chewing on a cigar.

gnaw if an animal gnaws something, it bites it repeatedly : The dog was in the yard gnawing on a bone.

nip somebody/give somebody a nip to give someone or something a small sharp bite : When I took the hamster out of his cage, he nipped me.

nibble to take a lot of small bites from something : A fish nibbled at the bait. | She sat at her desk, nibbling her sandwich.

sink your teeth into somebody/something to bite someone or something with a lot of force, so that your teeth go right into them : The dog sank its teeth into my leg. | He sank his teeth into the steak.

chomp on something informal to bite something and chew it in a noisy way : The donkey was chomping on a carrot. | He was chomping away on big slice of toast.

sting if an insect stings you, it makes a very small hole in your skin. You use sting about bees, wasps, and scorpions, and bite about mosquitoes, ants, spiders, and snakes : She stepped on a wasps’ nest and must have been stung at least 20 times.

bite back 短语动词

1 bite something ↔ back to stop yourself from saying or showing what you really think :

Tamar bit back the retort that sprang to her lips.

2 to react strongly and angrily to something

bite back at

Determined to bite back at car thieves, he wired his car to an electric fence.

bite S3 noun #

1 using teeth [可数名词] the act of cutting or crushing something with your teeth :
Antonio devoured half his burger in one bite. take/have a bite (of something/out of something) She picked up the sandwich and took a bite. Can I have a bite of your apple? give somebody a bite Some fish can give you a nasty bite. Her body was covered in bite marks . 2 wound [可数名词] a small hole made where an animal or insect has bitten you snake/ant etc bite bite of The infection is passed by the bite of a mosquito. 3 a bite (to eat) informal a small meal :
We had a bite to eat and a couple of drinks before the flight. 4 taste [不可数名词] a pleasantly sharp taste :
Goat’s cheese adds extra bite to any pasta dish. 5 cold [单数形式] a feeling of coldness :
There was no mistaking the approach of winter; he could feel its bite. 6 strong effect [不可数名词] a special quality in a performance, piece of writing etc that makes its arguments very effective and likely to persuade people :
The film gains incisive bite from Sellers’ performance as the union chief. 7 fish [可数名词] when a fish takes the food from a hook :
Sometimes I sit for hours and never get a bite . 8 another/a second bite at the cherry British English a second chance to do something 9 jaw [可数名词，通常单数] technical the way that a person or animal’s top and bottom teeth touch when their mouth is closed :
Our dentist said that Emmy should wear a brace to improve her bite. → love bite , sound bite , → sb’s bark is worse than their bite at bark 2 ( 4 )

bite-sized ( also bite-size ) adjective [仅用于名词前] #

small enough to put into your mouth to eat :
sushi served in convenient bite-size pieces