Dictionary

bite off en · VERB

Pronunciation

• (Australia) audio
• /ˈbaɪˌtɒf/ (Received-Pronunciation)
• /ˈbaɪˌtɔːf/ (Received-Pronunciation)

Meanings

1. To bite so hard as to remove something from its source.
   • Then she cocked her head back, opened her mouth, and bit off the trout's top half. 1999, Stephen King, The Girl Who Loved Tom Gordon:
2. (followed by on, idiomatic, sometimes, transitive) To accept or commit oneself to a task, project, notion, or responsibility, especially one which presents challenges.
   • We have set a plan that we believe everyone at News Corp. will bite off on. 2006 January 4, Natalie Pace, “Q&A: MySpace Founders Chris DeWolfe And Tom Anderson”, in Forbes, retrieved 04 Jul 2011:
   • In between what she called the "goody-good" or "frilly-knickers" Hollywood films, she bit off some more demanding parts back home. 1967 July 28, “Actresses: Hayley at 21”, in Time:
   • "And for the next couple of years, with Nokia having bitten off so much, Vuorilehto is the right guy for the task they face." 1988 December 29, Steve Lohr, “Risk Inherited at Finnish Concern”, in New York Times, retrieved 04 Jul 2011:
   • They think it's politically too much for the government to bite off right now. 2009 October 28, “Healthcare reform: Trigger Unhappy”, in Newsweek, retrieved 04 Jul 2011:
3. (idiomatic, transitive) To acquire, especially in an abrupt or forceful manner.
   • For R.I.M. to bite off just a tiny piece of that market would help it grow considerably. 2007 March 26, Laurie J. Flynn, “Maker of Mobile Games Brings Line to BlackBerry”, in New York Times, retrieved 04 Jul 2011:
   • To thicken that buffer zone Britain joined other powers in biting off larger chunks of China. 1997, Anthony Spaeth, "And Here the Twain Shall Meet," Time, Special Issue—Hong Kong 1997

Forms

Deriveds

bite off more than one can chew

Synonyms

tackle (accept or commit oneself to a task, etc) · grab (acquire, especially abruptly or forcefully) · accept (accept or commit oneself to a task, etc) · appropriate (acquire, especially abruptly or forcefully) · undertake (accept or commit oneself to a task, etc) · attempt (accept or commit oneself to a task, etc)

Translations (8)

de abbeißen (To remove by biting) · fr s'emparer (To acquire, especially in an abrupt or forceful manner) · fr se décarcasser (To accept or commit oneself to a task, project, notion, or responsibility) · la demordere (To remove by biting) · fr se dévouer (To accept or commit oneself to a task, project, notion, or responsibility) · fr saisir (To acquire, especially in an abrupt or forceful manner) · fr se casser le cul (To accept or commit oneself to a task, project, notion, or responsibility) · af afbyt (To remove by biting)