English Dictionary: biting | by the DICT Development Group |
3 results for biting | |
From WordNet (r) 3.0 (2006) [wn]: | |
From Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913) [web1913]: | |
Bite \Bite\, v. t. [imp. {Bit}; p. p. {Bitten}, {Bit}; p. pr. & vb. n. {Biting}.] [OE. biten, AS. b[c6]tan; akin to D. bijten, OS. b[c6]tan, OHG. b[c6]zan, G. beissen, Goth. beitan, Icel. b[c6]ta, Sw. bita, Dan. bide, L. findere to cleave, Skr. bhid to cleave. [root]87. Cf. {Fissure}.] 1. To seize with the teeth, so that they enter or nip the thing seized; to lacerate, crush, or wound with the teeth; as, to bite an apple; to bite a crust; the dog bit a man. Such smiling rogues as these, Like rats, oft bite the holy cords atwain. --Shak. 2. To puncture, abrade, or sting with an organ (of some insects) used in taking food. 3. To cause sharp pain, or smarting, to; to hurt or injure, in a literal or a figurative sense; as, pepper bites the mouth. [bd]Frosts do bite the meads.[b8] --Shak. 4. To cheat; to trick; to take in. [Colloq.] --Pope. 5. To take hold of; to hold fast; to adhere to; as, the anchor bites the ground. The last screw of the rack having been turned so often that its purchase crumbled, . . . it turned and turned with nothing to bite. --Dickens. {To bite the dust}, {To bite the ground}, to fall in the agonies of death; as, he made his enemy bite the dust. {To bite in} (Etching), to corrode or eat into metallic plates by means of an acid. {To bite the thumb at} (any one), formerly a mark of contempt, designed to provoke a quarrel; to defy. [bd]Do you bite your thumb at us?[b8] --Shak. {To bite the tongue}, to keep silence. --Shak. | |
From Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913) [web1913]: | |
Biting \Bit"ing\, a. That bites; sharp; cutting; sarcastic; caustic. [bd]A biting affliction.[b8] [bd]A biting jest.[b8] --Shak. |