"bite off" meaning in English

See bite off in All languages combined, or Wiktionary

Verb

IPA: /baɪˈtɒf/ [Received-Pronunciation], /baɪˈtɔːf/ [Received-Pronunciation] Audio: en-au-bite off.ogg [Australia] Forms: bites off [present, singular, third-person], biting off [participle, present], bit off [past], bitten off [participle, past]
Head templates: {{en-verb|bite<,,bit,bitten> off}} bite off (third-person singular simple present bites off, present participle biting off, simple past bit off, past participle bitten off)
  1. To bite so hard as to remove something from its source. Derived forms: bite off more than one can chew Translations (To remove by biting): afbyt (Afrikaans), abbeißen (German), demordere (Latin)
    Sense id: en-bite_off-en-verb-aAItV9Iq Disambiguation of 'To remove by biting': 87 7 6
  2. (transitive, idiomatic, sometimes followed by on) To accept or commit oneself to a task, project, notion, or responsibility, especially one which presents challenges. Tags: idiomatic, sometimes, transitive Synonyms (accept or commit oneself to a task, etc): accept, attempt, tackle, undertake Translations (To accept or commit oneself to a task, project, notion, or responsibility): se dévouer (French), se casser le cul [vulgar] (French), se décarcasser [informal] (French)
    Sense id: en-bite_off-en-verb-BJqyNTWG Disambiguation of 'accept or commit oneself to a task, etc': 4 89 7 Disambiguation of 'To accept or commit oneself to a task, project, notion, or responsibility': 3 92 5
  3. (transitive, idiomatic) To acquire, especially in an abrupt or forceful manner. Tags: idiomatic, transitive Synonyms (acquire, especially abruptly or forcefully): appropriate [verb], grab Translations (To acquire, especially in an abrupt or forceful manner): saisir (French), s’emparer (French)
    Sense id: en-bite_off-en-verb-UnyYvBOv Categories (other): English entries with incorrect language header, English phrasal verbs with particle (off) Disambiguation of English entries with incorrect language header: 30 23 48 Disambiguation of English phrasal verbs with particle (off): 23 22 56 Disambiguation of 'acquire, especially abruptly or forcefully': 6 9 85 Disambiguation of 'To acquire, especially in an abrupt or forceful manner': 2 3 96

Inflected forms

Download JSON data for bite off meaning in English (5.8kB)

{
  "forms": [
    {
      "form": "bites off",
      "tags": [
        "present",
        "singular",
        "third-person"
      ]
    },
    {
      "form": "biting off",
      "tags": [
        "participle",
        "present"
      ]
    },
    {
      "form": "bit off",
      "tags": [
        "past"
      ]
    },
    {
      "form": "bitten off",
      "tags": [
        "participle",
        "past"
      ]
    }
  ],
  "head_templates": [
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "bite<,,bit,bitten> off"
      },
      "expansion": "bite off (third-person singular simple present bites off, present participle biting off, simple past bit off, past participle bitten off)",
      "name": "en-verb"
    }
  ],
  "lang": "English",
  "lang_code": "en",
  "pos": "verb",
  "senses": [
    {
      "categories": [],
      "derived": [
        {
          "_dis1": "100 0 0",
          "word": "bite off more than one can chew"
        }
      ],
      "examples": [
        {
          "ref": "1999, Stephen King, The Girl Who Loved Tom Gordon",
          "text": "Then she cocked her head back, opened her mouth, and bit off the trout's top half.",
          "type": "quotation"
        }
      ],
      "glosses": [
        "To bite so hard as to remove something from its source."
      ],
      "id": "en-bite_off-en-verb-aAItV9Iq",
      "translations": [
        {
          "_dis1": "87 7 6",
          "code": "af",
          "lang": "Afrikaans",
          "sense": "To remove by biting",
          "word": "afbyt"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "87 7 6",
          "code": "de",
          "lang": "German",
          "sense": "To remove by biting",
          "word": "abbeißen"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "87 7 6",
          "code": "la",
          "lang": "Latin",
          "sense": "To remove by biting",
          "word": "demordere"
        }
      ]
    },
    {
      "categories": [],
      "examples": [
        {
          "ref": "1967 July 28, “Actresses: Hayley at 21”, in Time",
          "text": "In between what she called the \"goody-good\" or \"frilly-knickers\" Hollywood films, she bit off some more demanding parts back home.",
          "type": "quotation"
        },
        {
          "ref": "1988 December 29, Steve Lohr, “Risk Inherited at Finnish Concern”, in New York Times, retrieved 2011-07-04",
          "text": "And for the next couple of years, with Nokia having bitten off so much, Vuorilehto is the right guy for the task they face.",
          "type": "quotation"
        },
        {
          "ref": "2006 January 4, Natalie Pace, “Q&A: MySpace Founders Chris DeWolfe And Tom Anderson”, in Forbes, retrieved 2011-07-04",
          "text": "We have set a plan that we believe everyone at News Corp. will bite off on.",
          "type": "quotation"
        },
        {
          "ref": "2009 October 28, “Healthcare reform: Trigger Unhappy”, in Newsweek, retrieved 2011-07-04",
          "text": "They think it's politically too much for the government to bite off right now.",
          "type": "quotation"
        }
      ],
      "glosses": [
        "To accept or commit oneself to a task, project, notion, or responsibility, especially one which presents challenges."
      ],
      "id": "en-bite_off-en-verb-BJqyNTWG",
      "links": [
        [
          "on",
          "on#English"
        ],
        [
          "accept",
          "accept"
        ],
        [
          "commit",
          "commit"
        ],
        [
          "task",
          "task"
        ],
        [
          "project",
          "project"
        ],
        [
          "notion",
          "notion"
        ],
        [
          "responsibility",
          "responsibility"
        ],
        [
          "challenge",
          "challenge"
        ]
      ],
      "raw_glosses": [
        "(transitive, idiomatic, sometimes followed by on) To accept or commit oneself to a task, project, notion, or responsibility, especially one which presents challenges."
      ],
      "raw_tags": [
        "followed by on"
      ],
      "synonyms": [
        {
          "_dis1": "4 89 7",
          "sense": "accept or commit oneself to a task, etc",
          "word": "accept"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "4 89 7",
          "sense": "accept or commit oneself to a task, etc",
          "word": "attempt"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "4 89 7",
          "sense": "accept or commit oneself to a task, etc",
          "word": "tackle"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "4 89 7",
          "sense": "accept or commit oneself to a task, etc",
          "word": "undertake"
        }
      ],
      "tags": [
        "idiomatic",
        "sometimes",
        "transitive"
      ],
      "translations": [
        {
          "_dis1": "3 92 5",
          "code": "fr",
          "lang": "French",
          "sense": "To accept or commit oneself to a task, project, notion, or responsibility",
          "word": "se dévouer"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "3 92 5",
          "code": "fr",
          "lang": "French",
          "sense": "To accept or commit oneself to a task, project, notion, or responsibility",
          "tags": [
            "vulgar"
          ],
          "word": "se casser le cul"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "3 92 5",
          "code": "fr",
          "lang": "French",
          "sense": "To accept or commit oneself to a task, project, notion, or responsibility",
          "tags": [
            "informal"
          ],
          "word": "se décarcasser"
        }
      ]
    },
    {
      "categories": [
        {
          "_dis": "30 23 48",
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "English entries with incorrect language header",
          "parents": [
            "Entries with incorrect language header",
            "Entry maintenance"
          ],
          "source": "w+disamb"
        },
        {
          "_dis": "23 22 56",
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "English phrasal verbs with particle (off)",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w+disamb"
        }
      ],
      "examples": [
        {
          "ref": "1997, Anthony Spaeth, \"And Here the Twain Shall Meet,\" Time, Special Issue—Hong Kong 1997",
          "text": "To thicken that buffer zone Britain joined other powers in biting off larger chunks of China."
        },
        {
          "ref": "2007 March 26, Laurie J. Flynn, “Maker of Mobile Games Brings Line to BlackBerry”, in New York Times, retrieved 2011-07-04",
          "text": "For R.I.M. to bite off just a tiny piece of that market would help it grow considerably.",
          "type": "quotation"
        }
      ],
      "glosses": [
        "To acquire, especially in an abrupt or forceful manner."
      ],
      "id": "en-bite_off-en-verb-UnyYvBOv",
      "links": [
        [
          "acquire",
          "acquire"
        ],
        [
          "abrupt",
          "abrupt"
        ],
        [
          "forceful",
          "forceful"
        ]
      ],
      "raw_glosses": [
        "(transitive, idiomatic) To acquire, especially in an abrupt or forceful manner."
      ],
      "synonyms": [
        {
          "_dis1": "6 9 85",
          "sense": "acquire, especially abruptly or forcefully",
          "tags": [
            "verb"
          ],
          "word": "appropriate"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "6 9 85",
          "sense": "acquire, especially abruptly or forcefully",
          "word": "grab"
        }
      ],
      "tags": [
        "idiomatic",
        "transitive"
      ],
      "translations": [
        {
          "_dis1": "2 3 96",
          "code": "fr",
          "lang": "French",
          "sense": "To acquire, especially in an abrupt or forceful manner",
          "word": "saisir"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "2 3 96",
          "code": "fr",
          "lang": "French",
          "sense": "To acquire, especially in an abrupt or forceful manner",
          "word": "s’emparer"
        }
      ]
    }
  ],
  "sounds": [
    {
      "ipa": "/baɪˈtɒf/",
      "tags": [
        "Received-Pronunciation"
      ]
    },
    {
      "ipa": "/baɪˈtɔːf/",
      "tags": [
        "Received-Pronunciation"
      ]
    },
    {
      "audio": "en-au-bite off.ogg",
      "mp3_url": "https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/transcoded/0/04/En-au-bite_off.ogg/En-au-bite_off.ogg.mp3",
      "ogg_url": "https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/0/04/En-au-bite_off.ogg",
      "tags": [
        "Australia"
      ],
      "text": "Audio (AU)"
    }
  ],
  "word": "bite off"
}
{
  "categories": [
    "English entries with incorrect language header",
    "English lemmas",
    "English multiword terms",
    "English phrasal verbs",
    "English phrasal verbs with particle (off)",
    "English terms with IPA pronunciation",
    "English terms with audio links",
    "English verbs"
  ],
  "derived": [
    {
      "word": "bite off more than one can chew"
    }
  ],
  "forms": [
    {
      "form": "bites off",
      "tags": [
        "present",
        "singular",
        "third-person"
      ]
    },
    {
      "form": "biting off",
      "tags": [
        "participle",
        "present"
      ]
    },
    {
      "form": "bit off",
      "tags": [
        "past"
      ]
    },
    {
      "form": "bitten off",
      "tags": [
        "participle",
        "past"
      ]
    }
  ],
  "head_templates": [
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "bite<,,bit,bitten> off"
      },
      "expansion": "bite off (third-person singular simple present bites off, present participle biting off, simple past bit off, past participle bitten off)",
      "name": "en-verb"
    }
  ],
  "lang": "English",
  "lang_code": "en",
  "pos": "verb",
  "senses": [
    {
      "categories": [
        "English terms with quotations"
      ],
      "examples": [
        {
          "ref": "1999, Stephen King, The Girl Who Loved Tom Gordon",
          "text": "Then she cocked her head back, opened her mouth, and bit off the trout's top half.",
          "type": "quotation"
        }
      ],
      "glosses": [
        "To bite so hard as to remove something from its source."
      ]
    },
    {
      "categories": [
        "English idioms",
        "English terms with quotations",
        "English transitive verbs"
      ],
      "examples": [
        {
          "ref": "1967 July 28, “Actresses: Hayley at 21”, in Time",
          "text": "In between what she called the \"goody-good\" or \"frilly-knickers\" Hollywood films, she bit off some more demanding parts back home.",
          "type": "quotation"
        },
        {
          "ref": "1988 December 29, Steve Lohr, “Risk Inherited at Finnish Concern”, in New York Times, retrieved 2011-07-04",
          "text": "And for the next couple of years, with Nokia having bitten off so much, Vuorilehto is the right guy for the task they face.",
          "type": "quotation"
        },
        {
          "ref": "2006 January 4, Natalie Pace, “Q&A: MySpace Founders Chris DeWolfe And Tom Anderson”, in Forbes, retrieved 2011-07-04",
          "text": "We have set a plan that we believe everyone at News Corp. will bite off on.",
          "type": "quotation"
        },
        {
          "ref": "2009 October 28, “Healthcare reform: Trigger Unhappy”, in Newsweek, retrieved 2011-07-04",
          "text": "They think it's politically too much for the government to bite off right now.",
          "type": "quotation"
        }
      ],
      "glosses": [
        "To accept or commit oneself to a task, project, notion, or responsibility, especially one which presents challenges."
      ],
      "links": [
        [
          "on",
          "on#English"
        ],
        [
          "accept",
          "accept"
        ],
        [
          "commit",
          "commit"
        ],
        [
          "task",
          "task"
        ],
        [
          "project",
          "project"
        ],
        [
          "notion",
          "notion"
        ],
        [
          "responsibility",
          "responsibility"
        ],
        [
          "challenge",
          "challenge"
        ]
      ],
      "raw_glosses": [
        "(transitive, idiomatic, sometimes followed by on) To accept or commit oneself to a task, project, notion, or responsibility, especially one which presents challenges."
      ],
      "raw_tags": [
        "followed by on"
      ],
      "tags": [
        "idiomatic",
        "sometimes",
        "transitive"
      ]
    },
    {
      "categories": [
        "English idioms",
        "English terms with quotations",
        "English transitive verbs"
      ],
      "examples": [
        {
          "ref": "1997, Anthony Spaeth, \"And Here the Twain Shall Meet,\" Time, Special Issue—Hong Kong 1997",
          "text": "To thicken that buffer zone Britain joined other powers in biting off larger chunks of China."
        },
        {
          "ref": "2007 March 26, Laurie J. Flynn, “Maker of Mobile Games Brings Line to BlackBerry”, in New York Times, retrieved 2011-07-04",
          "text": "For R.I.M. to bite off just a tiny piece of that market would help it grow considerably.",
          "type": "quotation"
        }
      ],
      "glosses": [
        "To acquire, especially in an abrupt or forceful manner."
      ],
      "links": [
        [
          "acquire",
          "acquire"
        ],
        [
          "abrupt",
          "abrupt"
        ],
        [
          "forceful",
          "forceful"
        ]
      ],
      "raw_glosses": [
        "(transitive, idiomatic) To acquire, especially in an abrupt or forceful manner."
      ],
      "tags": [
        "idiomatic",
        "transitive"
      ]
    }
  ],
  "sounds": [
    {
      "ipa": "/baɪˈtɒf/",
      "tags": [
        "Received-Pronunciation"
      ]
    },
    {
      "ipa": "/baɪˈtɔːf/",
      "tags": [
        "Received-Pronunciation"
      ]
    },
    {
      "audio": "en-au-bite off.ogg",
      "mp3_url": "https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/transcoded/0/04/En-au-bite_off.ogg/En-au-bite_off.ogg.mp3",
      "ogg_url": "https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/0/04/En-au-bite_off.ogg",
      "tags": [
        "Australia"
      ],
      "text": "Audio (AU)"
    }
  ],
  "synonyms": [
    {
      "sense": "accept or commit oneself to a task, etc",
      "word": "accept"
    },
    {
      "sense": "accept or commit oneself to a task, etc",
      "word": "attempt"
    },
    {
      "sense": "accept or commit oneself to a task, etc",
      "word": "tackle"
    },
    {
      "sense": "accept or commit oneself to a task, etc",
      "word": "undertake"
    },
    {
      "sense": "acquire, especially abruptly or forcefully",
      "tags": [
        "verb"
      ],
      "word": "appropriate"
    },
    {
      "sense": "acquire, especially abruptly or forcefully",
      "word": "grab"
    }
  ],
  "translations": [
    {
      "code": "af",
      "lang": "Afrikaans",
      "sense": "To remove by biting",
      "word": "afbyt"
    },
    {
      "code": "de",
      "lang": "German",
      "sense": "To remove by biting",
      "word": "abbeißen"
    },
    {
      "code": "la",
      "lang": "Latin",
      "sense": "To remove by biting",
      "word": "demordere"
    },
    {
      "code": "fr",
      "lang": "French",
      "sense": "To accept or commit oneself to a task, project, notion, or responsibility",
      "word": "se dévouer"
    },
    {
      "code": "fr",
      "lang": "French",
      "sense": "To accept or commit oneself to a task, project, notion, or responsibility",
      "tags": [
        "vulgar"
      ],
      "word": "se casser le cul"
    },
    {
      "code": "fr",
      "lang": "French",
      "sense": "To accept or commit oneself to a task, project, notion, or responsibility",
      "tags": [
        "informal"
      ],
      "word": "se décarcasser"
    },
    {
      "code": "fr",
      "lang": "French",
      "sense": "To acquire, especially in an abrupt or forceful manner",
      "word": "saisir"
    },
    {
      "code": "fr",
      "lang": "French",
      "sense": "To acquire, especially in an abrupt or forceful manner",
      "word": "s’emparer"
    }
  ],
  "word": "bite off"
}

This page is a part of the kaikki.org machine-readable English dictionary. This dictionary is based on structured data extracted on 2024-05-05 from the enwiktionary dump dated 2024-05-02 using wiktextract (f4fd8c9 and c9440ce). The data shown on this site has been post-processed and various details (e.g., extra categories) removed, some information disambiguated, and additional data merged from other sources. See the raw data download page for the unprocessed wiktextract data.

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