bite

/ˈbīt/

Middle English biten, going back to Old English bītan, going back to Germanic *bītan- (whence Old Saxon bītan "to bite, cut into," Old High German bīzan, Old Norse bíta, Gothic beitan), going back to Indo-European *b{sup}h{/sup}ei̯d- "split," whence also Latin findere "to split, cleave, divide" (from a derivative *b{sup}h{/sup}i-n-d-), Sanskrit abhet "has split," bhinátti "(s/he) splits" and perhaps Greek pheídomai, pheídesthai "to spare, save, refrain from"

verb

  1. to seize especially with teeth or jaws so as to enter, grip, or wound

  2. to wound, pierce, or sting especially with a fang or a proboscis

  3. to cut or pierce with or as if with an edged weapon

was bitten by a dog

getting bitten by mosquitoes

noun

  1. the act of biting

  2. the manner of biting; especially, dentistry : occlusion

  3. food: such as

took a bite of the sandwich

noun

  1. a removable usually plastic dental appliance used in orthodontics and prosthodontics: such as

  2. a device worn in the upper or lower jaw and used especially to reposition the jaw or prevent bruxism

  3. retainer