- [countable] an act of biting
- The dog gave me a playful bite.
Oxford Collocations Dictionaryverb + bite- have
- swallow
- take
- …
- between bites
- bite from
- bite of
- …
Want to learn more?
Find out which words work together and produce more natural sounding English with the Oxford Collocations Dictionary app.
- [countable, usually singular] the way the upper and lower teeth fit together
- He has to wear a brace to correct his bite.
- [countable] a small piece of food that you can bite from a larger piece
- She took a couple of bites of the sandwich.
- He didn't eat a bite of his dinner (= he ate nothing).
Extra Examples- She tried to talk between bites.
- She took a huge bite out of the chocolate bar.
Oxford Collocations Dictionaryverb + bite- have
- swallow
- take
- …
- between bites
- bite from
- bite of
- …
- a bite (to eat) [singular] (informal) a small amount of food; a small meal
- How about a bite of lunch?
- We just have time for a bite to eat before the movie.
- We managed to grab a bite at the airport.
Oxford Collocations Dictionaryadjective- quick
- grab
- have
- bite of
- a bite to eat
- [countable] a wound made by an animal or insect
- Dog bites can get infected.
- a(n) mosquito/snake/insect bite
- a bite from a poisonous snake
- There was a bite mark on his arm.
Oxford Collocations Dictionaryadjective- dog
- insect
- mosquito
- …
- get
- mark
- bite from
- [uncountable] a pleasant strong taste
- Cheese will add extra bite to any pasta dish.
- [singular] a sharp cold feeling
- There's a bite in the air tonight.
- [uncountable] a quality that makes something effective or powerful
- The performance had no bite to it.
- The sun had lost some of its bite by then.
- [countable] the act of a fish biting food on a hook
- The fishermen waited all afternoon for a bite.
Oxford Collocations Dictionaryverb + bite- have
- swallow
- take
- …
- between bites
- bite from
- bite of
- …
see also frostbite, love bite, sound bite
using teeth
food
of insect/animal
strong taste
cold
powerful effect
of fish
Word OriginOld English bītan, of Germanic origin; related to Dutch bijten and German beissen.
Idioms
See bite in the Oxford Advanced American Dictionarysomebody’s bark is worse than their bite
- (informal) used to say that somebody is not really as angry or as aggressive as they sound
a bite at/of the cherry
- (British English) an opportunity to do something
- You only get one bite at the cherry in life.
- They were eager for a second bite of the cherry.
Check pronunciation:
bite