Emily Dickinson Lexicon

BITE, v.t. [pret. bit; pp. bit, bitten. Sax. bitan; Sw. bita; Dan. bider; Ger. beissen, to bite.]

1. To break or crush with the teeth, as in eating; to pierce with the teeth, as a serpent; to seize with the teeth, as a dog.
2. To pinch or pain, as with cold; as, a biting north wind; the frost bites.
3. To reproach with sarcasm; to treat with severity by words or writing; as, one poet praises, another bites.
4. To pierce, cut, or wound; as, a biting falchion. – Shak.
5. To make to smart; as, acids bite the mouth.
6. To cheat; to trick. The rogue was bit. – Pope. [Not elegant, but common.]
7. To enter the ground and hold fast, as the bill and palm of an anchor. – Mar. Dict.
8. To injure by angry contention. If ye bite and devour one another. – Gal. v.