make bail

Idioms & Phrases

make bail

Put up security as an assurance that someone released from prison will appear for trial, as in He didn't think he could make bail for his brother. The use of bail for "security" was first recorded in 1495.

The American Heritage® Dictionary of Idioms by Christine Ammer.
Copyright © 1997. Published by Houghton Mifflin.
Cite This Source
Dictionary.com, LLC. Copyright © 2012. All rights reserved.
  • Please Login or Sign Up to use the Recent Searches feature