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bail

bail


bail 4    Audio Help   (bāl)  Pronunciation Key 
n.  
  1. Chiefly British A pole or bar used to confine or separate animals.
  2. Sports One of the two crossbars that form the top of a wicket used in the game of cricket.


[Old French dialectal, probably from Latin baculum, stick; see bacillus.]

bail 3    Audio Help   (bāl)  Pronunciation Key 


n.  
  1. The arched hooplike handle of a container, such as a pail.
  2. An arch or hoop, such as one of those used to support the top of a covered wagon.
  3. A hinged bar on a typewriter that holds the paper against the platen.
  4. The pivoting U-shaped part of a fishing reel that guides the line onto the spool during rewinding.


[Middle English beil, perhaps from Old English *bēgel or of Scandinavian origin; see bheug- in Indo-European roots.]

bail 2    Audio Help   (bāl)  Pronunciation Key 
v.   bailed, bail·ing, bails

v.   tr.
  1. To remove (water) from a boat by repeatedly filling a container and emptying it over the side.
  2. To empty (a boat) of water by bailing.

v.   intr.
To empty a boat of water by bailing.

n.   A container used for emptying water from a boat.

Phrasal Verb(s):
bail out
  1. To parachute from an aircraft; eject.
  2. To abandon a project or enterprise.

[From Middle English baille, bucket, from Old French, from Vulgar Latin *bāiula, water container, from Latin bāiulāre, to carry a load.]

bail'er n.
bail 1    Audio Help   (bāl)  Pronunciation Key 
n.  
  1. Security, usually a sum of money, exchanged for the release of an arrested person as a guarantee of that person's appearance for trial.
  2. Release from imprisonment provided by the payment of such money.
  3. A person who provides this security.

tr.v.   bailed, bail·ing, bails
  1. To secure the release of by providing security.
  2. To release (a person) for whom security has been paid.
  3. Informal To extricate from a difficult situation: always bailing you out of trouble.
  4. To transfer (property) to another for a special purpose but without permanent transference of ownership.


[Middle English, custody, from Old French, from baillier, to take charge of, from Latin bāiulāre, to carry a load, from bāiulus, carrier of a burden.]

bail'er n.
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The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2000 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.

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