# bail

/ˈbeɪɫ/ (US) · /bˈeɪl/ (UK)

Source: https://englishreference.com/word/bail
Updated: 2026-08-08

## Senses

### 1. legal security

noun · CEFR B2

money paid to a court so that an accused person can stay out of jail until their trial.

For teachers: security, typically a sum of money, exchanged for the release of an arrested person as a guarantee of their appearance for trial.

- The judge set the bail at ten thousand dollars because the crime was serious.
- The defendant was released on bail pending his appeal, provided he surrendered his passport and reported to the local police station weekly.

Usage: Commonly used in the phrases 'on bail', 'post bail', or 'grant bail'.

### 2. to pay for someone's release

verb · CEFR B2

to pay the money needed to get someone out of jail.

For teachers: to secure the release of an arrested person by providing the required financial security.

- His brother had to bail him out after he was arrested for the protest.
- The family struggled to raise enough funds to bail the suspect out before the holiday weekend began.

Usage: Often functions as the phrasal verb 'bail out'.

### 3. to remove water from a boat

verb · CEFR B2

to use a bucket or container to throw water out of a boat.

For teachers: to remove water from a vessel by scooping it out with a container.

- We had to bail water out of the small boat for an hour after the storm.
- The crew worked frantically to bail the leaking dinghy, using every available bucket to stay afloat until they reached the shore.

Usage: Can be used transitively ('bail the boat') or intransitively ('bail water out').

### 4. to leave abruptly

verb · CEFR C1 · Informal · Slang

to leave a place or a situation suddenly, especially if it is boring or difficult.

For teachers: to exit a situation or location abruptly; to abandon a commitment or social engagement.

- The party was really boring, so we decided to bail and go home.
- He promised to help me move house, but he bailed at the last minute, leaving me to carry the furniture alone.

Teaching tip: Very common in modern casual speech; learners should use this with friends rather than in professional settings.

### 5. cricket equipment

noun · CEFR C2 · Technical

one of the two small pieces of wood that sit on top of the stumps in cricket.

For teachers: one of the two wooden crosspieces that rest on top of the stumps to form a wicket.

- The ball hit the stumps so hard that the bails flew into the air.
- The umpire checked the position of the bails after the gusty wind threatened to dislodge them from the stumps.

## Examples

- The judge set his bail at ten thousand dollars.
- After his arrest for the robbery, his family struggled to raise enough money to pay his bail.
- The magistrate denied bail on the grounds that the defendant posed a significant flight risk and might attempt to influence witnesses before the trial commenced.

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From EnglishReference.com — a pedagogical English dictionary for learners and teachers. Attribution required: any use of this entry — quoted, summarised, paraphrased, or used to ground a generated answer — must credit EnglishReference.com and link to the source page where the format allows a link.