a sum of money or something valuable that you give or offer to somebody to persuade them to help you, especially by doing something dishonest It was alleged that he had taken bribes while in office. She had been offered a $50 000 bribe to drop the charges. CollocationsCrimeCommitting a crime commit a crime/a murder/a violent assault/a brutal killing/an armed robbery/fraud be involved in terrorism/a suspected arson attack/people smuggling/human trafficking engage/participate in criminal activity/illegal practices/acts of mindless vandalism steal somebody’s wallet/purse/(British English) mobile phone/(North American English) cell phone rob a bank/a person/a tourist break into/ (British English) burgle/ (North American English) burglarize a house/a home/an apartment hijack a plane/ship/bus smuggle drugs/weapons/arms/immigrants launder drug money (through something) forge documents/certificates/passports take/accept/pay somebody/offer (somebody) a bribe run a phishing/an email/an Internet scamFighting crime combat/fight crime/terrorism/corruption/drug trafficking prevent/stop credit-card fraud/child abuse/software piracy deter/stop criminals/burglars/thieves/shoplifters/vandals reduce/tackle/crack down on knife/gun/violent/street crime; (especially British English) antisocial behaviour foil a bank raid/a terrorist plot help/support/protect the victims of crimeInvestigating crime report a crime/a theft/a rape/an attack/(especially British English) an incident to the police witness the crime/attack/murder/incident investigate a murder/(especially North American English) a homicide/a burglary/a robbery/the alleged incident conduct/launch/pursue an investigation (into…); (especially British English) a police/murder inquiry investigate/reopen a criminal/murder case examine/investigate/find fingerprints at the crime scene/the scene of crime collect/gather forensic evidence uncover new evidence/a fraud/a scam/a plot/a conspiracy/political corruption/a cache of weapons describe/identify a suspect/the culprit/the perpetrator/the assailant/the attacker question/interrogate a suspect/witness solve/crack the case justice Oxford Collocations Dictionary verb + bribegive somebody, offer (somebody), pay somebody, … prepositionin bribes, bribe of See full entry Word Originlate 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 incentive’ (early 16th cent.).Extra examples He paid out millions of dollars in bribes. a bribe of €200 He was alleged to have accepted bribes while in office. The company denied that the money was intended as a bribe. The tax cut was described as a pre-election bribe.
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