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bitten

 [bit-n]   Origin

bit·ten

   [bit-n]
verb
a past participle of bite.
Related forms
un·bit·ten, adjective

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Bitten is one of our favorite verbs.
So is skedaddle. Does it mean:
to run away hurriedly; flee.
to bark; yelp.
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Dictionary.com Unabridged

bite

   [bahyt] verb, bit, bit·ten or bit, bit·ing, noun
verb (used with object)
1.
to cut, wound, or tear with the teeth: She bit the apple greedily. The lion bit his trainer.
2.
to grip or hold with the teeth: Stop biting your lip!
3.
to sting, as does an insect.
4.
to cause to smart or sting: an icy wind that bit our faces.
5.
to sever with the teeth (often followed by off): Don't bite your nails. The child bit off a large piece of the candy bar.
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6.
to start to eat (often followed by into): She bit into her steak.
7.
to clamp the teeth firmly on or around (often followed by on): He bit hard on the stick while they removed the bullet from his leg.
8.
Informal.
a.
to take advantage of; cheat; deceive: I got bitten in a mail-order swindle.
b.
to annoy or upset; anger: What's biting you, sorehead?
9.
to eat into or corrode, as does an acid.
10.
to cut or pierce with, or as with, a weapon: The sword split his helmet and bit him fatally.
11.
Etching. to etch with acid (a copper or other surface) in such parts as are left bare of a protective coating.
12.
to take firm hold or act effectively on: We need a clamp to bite the wood while the glue dries.
13.
Archaic. to make a decided impression on; affect.
COLLAPSE
verb (used without object)
14.
to press the teeth into something; attack with the jaws, bill, sting, etc.; snap: Does your parrot bite?
15.
Angling. (of fish) to take bait: The fish aren't biting today.
16.
to accept an offer or suggestion, especially one intended to trick or deceive: I knew it was a mistake, but I bit anyway.
17.
Informal. to admit defeat in guessing: I'll bite, who is it?
18.
to act effectively; grip; hold: This wood is so dry the screws don't bite.
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19.
Slang. to be notably repellent, disappointing, poor, etc.; suck.
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noun
20.
an act of biting.
21.
a wound made by biting: a deep bite.
22.
a cutting, stinging, or nipping effect: the bite of an icy wind; the bite of whiskey on the tongue.
23.
a piece bitten off: Chew each bite carefully.
24.
a small meal: Let's have a bite before the theater.
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25.
a portion severed from the whole: the government's weekly bite of my paycheck.
26.
a morsel of food: not a bite to eat.
27.
the occlusion of one's teeth: The dentist said I had a good bite.
28.
Machinery.
a.
the catch or hold that one object or one part of a mechanical apparatus has on another.
b.
a surface brought into contact to obtain a hold or grip, as in a lathe chuck or similar device.
c.
the amount of material that a mechanical shovel or the like can carry at one time.
29.
sharpness; incisiveness; effectiveness: The bite of his story is spoiled by his slovenly style.
30.
the roughness of the surface of a file.
31.
Metalworking. the maximum angle, measured from the center of a roll in a rolling mill, between a perpendicular and a line to the point of contact where a given object to be rolled will enter between the rolls.
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Idioms
32.
bite off more than one can chew, to attempt something that exceeds one's capacity: In trying to build a house by himself, he bit off more than he could chew.
33.
bite someone's head off, to respond with anger or impatience to someone's question or comment: He'll bite your head off if you ask for anything.
34.
bite the bullet. bullet (def. 7).
35.
bite the dust. dust (def. 21).
36.
bite the hand that feeds one, to repay kindness with malice or injury: When he berates his boss, he is biting the hand that feeds him.
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37.
put the bite on, Slang.
a.
to solicit or attempt to borrow money or something of value from.
b.
to press for money, as in extortion: They found out about his prison record and began to put the bite on him.
COLLAPSE
Origin:
before 1000; Middle English biten, Old English bītan; cognate with Old High German bīzan (German beissen), Gothic beitan, Old Norse bīta; akin to Latin findere to split

Related forms
bit·a·ble, bite·a·ble, adjective

Can be confused: bight, bite, byte.

Synonyms
1. gnaw, chew, nip. 22. mouthful, morsel, taste; scrap, crumb, dab. 23. snack, nosh.

Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2012.
Cite This Source Link To bitten
Collins
World English Dictionary
bitten (ˈbɪtən)
 
—vb
the past participle of bite

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 10th Edition
2009 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009
Cite This Source
Etymonline
Word Origin & History

bite
O.E. bitan (class I strong verb; past tense bat, pp. biten), from P.Gmc. *bitan (O.Fris. bita, M.Du. biten, Ger. beissen, Goth. beitan "to bite"), from PIE base *bheid- "to split, crack" (see fissure). To bite the bullet is 1700s military slang, from old medical custom of
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having the patient bite a bullet during an operation to divert attention from pain and reduce screaming. To bite (one's) tongue "refrain from speaking" is 1590s. To bite the dust "die" is 1750. To bite off more than one can chew (c.1880) is U.S. slang, from plug tobacco.

bitten
pp. of bite.
COLLAPSE
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
Cite This Source
American Heritage
Medical Dictionary

bite (bīt)
v. bit (bĭt), bit·ten (bĭt'n) or bit, bit·ing, bites

  1. To cut, grip, or tear with the teeth.

  2. To pierce the skin of with the teeth, fangs, or mouthparts.

n.

  1. The act of biting.

  2. A puncture or laceration of the skin by the teeth of an animal or the mouthparts of an insect or similar organism.

The American Heritage® Stedman's Medical Dictionary
Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Cite This Source
Slang Dictionary

bite definition


  1. in.
    to accept a deception; to fall for something; to respond to a come-on. : We put up a sign advertising free pop, but nobody bit.
  2. in.
    [for someone or something] to be bad or threatening. : My dad bites, but don't worry, he's in a good mood.
  3. in.
    to be irritating. (More severe than to suck,as in It sucks.) : This party bites. Sko.
  4. tv.
    to copy something without permission; to steal something. : Sue bit a copy of my term paper, and I almost got in trouble.
Dictionary of American Slang and Colloquial Expressions by Richard A. Spears.Fourth Edition.
Copyright 2007. Published by McGraw Hill.
Cite This Source
American Heritage
Idioms & Phrases

bitten

see once bitten, twice shy; also see bite.

The American Heritage® Dictionary of Idioms by Christine Ammer.
Copyright © 1997. Published by Houghton Mifflin.
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