noun
bribery
BREYE-buh-ree
noun
1
The act of giving money or a favour to someone in a position of power in order to influence their decision.
"The contractor was jailed for bribery after paying an inspector to approve faulty work."
"The scandal exposed years of bribery inside the planning department."
How to Use Bribery
Learner’s notesIn plain EnglishPaying someone off so they do what you want, when they are not supposed to be for sale.
Common mistake
Bribery is the act of paying someone off; blackmail is threatening to expose someone unless they pay or comply — the direction of pressure is reversed.
Easily confused with
Common pairings
charged with bribery
bribery and corruption
accept a bribe
Word Forms
briberies plural
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The contractor was jailed for _____ after paying an inspector to approve faulty work.
Etymology
From bribe plus the suffix -ery, going back through Old French to a root meaning "to beg" or "to steal".