Word · CEFR C1 · Frequency #11092
bribe
贿赂；收买
to give someone money or a gift in order to persuade them to do something, especially something dishonest
- 1.
To give a bribe to; specifically, to ask a person to do something against their original will, in exchange for some type of reward or relief from potential trouble.
向某人行贿；特别是要求某人违背其原意做某事,以换取某种奖励或免于潜在麻烦。
- 2.
To gain by a bribe; to induce as by a bribe.
通过贿赂获得；通过贿赂诱导。
- 3.
make illegal payments to in exchange for favors or influence
以非法支付换取好处或影响
以行贿获得；买通；向某人行贿；特别是要求某人违背其原意做某事,以换取某种奖励或免于潜在麻烦。；通过贿赂获得；通过贿赂诱导。；以非法支付换取好处或影响；贿赂
In use
The politician was accused of trying to bribe the inspector to overlook the safety violations.
They attempted to bribe the guard into letting them enter the building without authorization.
He was fired after evidence showed he had bribed several officials to win the contract.
bribe sb
直接跟被贿赂的对象。
He bribed the official.
他贿赂了那位官员。
bribe sb to do sth
不定式表示目的。
They bribed the guard to let them pass.
他们贿赂守卫让他们通过。
bribe sb into doing sth
into+动名词表示诱导做某事。
Connections
Collocations
- bribe a witness
- 向证人行贿
- He tried to bribe a witness to change her testimony.他试图向一名证人行贿，让她改变证词。
- bribe an official
- 贿赂官员
- The company bribed officials to win the contract.该公司贿赂官员以赢得合同。
- bribe someone to do something
- 贿赂某人做某事
- They bribed the guard to let them in.他们贿赂警卫让他们进去。
- attempt to bribe
- 企图行贿
- She was arrested for attempting to bribe a police officer.她因企图贿赂一名警察而被捕。
- bribe one's way into
- 靠行贿进入
- He bribed his way into the restricted area.他靠行贿进入了禁区。
Idioms & figurative uses
Learner notes
Memory Tip
记：bribe 与 buy 都以 b 开头，都用钱；bribe 就是花钱“买通”别人——行贿、收买。
Context & Register
语域：neutral 常见场景：legal proceedings、journalism、politics、everyday conversation bribe 作动词表示“行贿、收买”，通常属于中性词，在法律、新闻、日常对话中都较常见。它多指以利益诱导他人违背原则，带负面色彩。口语里有时说 pay off，但 bribe 在正式和非正式场合都用得很自然。
Grammar Note
常用结构：bribe sb. to do sth. 或 bribe sb. with sth.
Pronunciation & Spelling
bribe 读 /braɪb/。以上词的末尾均含 -ibe，重读音节中的元音和辅音与 bribe 完全一致（/aɪb/），因此都与 bribe 押韵。注意：不要按字母 i 的短音习惯把 -ibe 读成 /ɪb/；拼写相似的 brick /brɪk/ 虽然以 bri 开头，但发音与 bribe 不同。
Usage priority
Collins 词频等级为 2，建议结合例句记忆，而不是只背中文释义。
Learn the forms together
页面下方列出了常见词形变化。学习时注意它们在句子中的语法位置。
Dictionary facts from ECDICT, OCTANOVE, WIKTIONARY.