ENGLISH
REFERENCE

bribed

v.
B2 Upper Intermediate US //ˈbɹaɪbd// UK //bɹˈaɪbd// bribed

v. gave someone money or a secret gift to make them do something dishonest for you.

v. past tense and past participle of 'bribe'; refers to the act of dishonestly persuading someone to act in one's favour by a gift of money or other inducement.


SIMPLE

He bribed the guard to let him into the building.

CONTEXTUAL

The investigation revealed that the contractor had bribed several local officials to secure the construction project.

COMPLEX

The fallen politician was eventually convicted after witnesses testified that he had been bribed by corporate lobbyists to influence the outcome of the environmental legislation.

Synonyms
Usage

The verb is transitive and requires a direct object, typically the person being influenced.

Pitfall

he bribed to the officialhe bribed the officialBribe is a transitive verb and does not take the preposition 'to' before the object.

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