bribe
verb
[ brʌɪb ]
• dishonestly persuade (someone) to act in one's favour by a gift of money or other inducement.
• "they attempted to bribe opponents into losing"
Similar:
buy off,
pay off,
suborn,
give an inducement to,
corrupt,
grease someone's palm,
give someone a backhander,
give someone a sweetener,
keep someone sweet,
get at,
fix,
square,
nobble,
bribe
noun
• a sum of money or other inducement offered or given to bribe someone.
• "lawmakers were caught accepting bribes to bring in legalized gambling"
Similar:
inducement,
incentive,
payola,
backhander,
pay-off,
kickback,
sweetener,
carrot,
bung,
dropsy,
plugola,
schmear,
sling,
douceur,
drop,
Origin:
late Middle English: from Old French briber, brimber ‘beg’, of unknown origin. The original sense was ‘rob, extort’, hence (as a noun) ‘theft, stolen goods’, also ‘money extorted or demanded for favours’, later ‘offer money as an inducement’ (early 16th century).
