n.
- Security, usually a sum of money, exchanged for the release of an arrested person as a guarantee of that person's appearance for trial.
- Release from imprisonment provided by the payment of such money.
- A person who provides this security.
- To secure the release of by providing security.
- To release (a person) for whom security has been paid.
- Informal. To extricate from a difficult situation: always bailing you out of trouble.
- To transfer (property) to another for a special purpose but without permanent transference of ownership.
jump (or skip) bail
- To fail to appear in court and so forfeit one's bail.
[Middle English, custody, from Old French, from baillier, to take charge of, from Latin bāiulāre, to carry a load, from bāiulus, carrier of a burden.]
bailer bail'er n.bail2 (bāl)
v., bailed, bail·ing, bails. v.tr.
- To remove (water) from a boat by repeatedly filling a container and emptying it over the side.
- To empty (a boat) of water by bailing.
To empty a boat of water by bailing.
n.
A container used for emptying water from a boat.
phrasal verb:
bail out
- To parachute from an aircraft; eject.
- To abandon a project or enterprise.
[From Middle English baille, bucket, from Old French, from Vulgar Latin *bāiula, water container, from Latin bāiulāre, to carry a load.]
bailer bail'er n.bail3 (bāl)
n.
- The arched hooplike handle of a container, such as a pail.
- An arch or hoop, such as one of those used to support the top of a covered wagon.
- A hinged bar on a typewriter that holds the paper against the platen.
- The pivoting U-shaped part of a fishing reel that guides the line onto the spool during rewinding.
[Middle English beil, perhaps from Old English *bēgel or of Scandinavian origin.]
bail4 (bāl)
n.
- Chiefly British. A pole or bar used to confine or separate animals.
- Sports. One of the two crossbars that form the top of a wicket used in the game of cricket.
[Old French dialectal, probably from Latin baculum, stick. See bacillus.]
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition Copyright © 2007, 2000 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Updated in 2009. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
