biting
/ˈbaɪtɪŋ/
biting is the present participle and gerund of bite.
Noun
biting (plural bitings)
- An instance of something being bitten.
- A bite-sized snack.
- Here the guests were lavishly entertained with drinks and bitings even before sitting down to dinner.1997, Women in Kenya, page 20
- More of a cafeteria than a purebreed coffeehouse, the neat little 21 does both full meals and snacks or 'bitings'.2006, Kenya, page 116
Adjective
biting (comparative more biting, superlative most biting)
Meaning of bite
Verb
bite (third-person singular simple present bites, present participle biting, simple past bit, past participle bitten or bit)
- To cut into something by clamping the teeth.
- As soon as you bite that sandwich, you'll know how good it is.
- To hold something by clamping one's teeth.
- To attack with the teeth.
- That dog is about to bite!
- To behave aggressively; to reject advances.
- If you see me, come and say hello. I don't bite.
- To take hold; to establish firm contact with.
- I needed snow chains to make the tires bite.
- To have significant effect, often negative.
- For homeowners with adjustable rate mortgages, rising interest will really bite.
Synonyms of biting
Forms of biting
| Noun | |
|---|---|
| plural | bitings |
| Adjective | |
| comparative | more biting |
| superlative | most biting |
Words formed from biting
Phrases with biting
- biting in
- biting it
- biting off
- cow biting
- biting back
- biting down
- biting midge
- biting point
- biting midges
- biting points
- biting the curb
- biting the dust
15 more phrasesFewer phrases
- biting one's lip
- biting in the ass
- biting on granite
- biting the bullet
- biting in the arse
- biting one's nails
- biting one's thumb
- biting the big one
- biting the biscuit
- biting one's tongue
- coming up and biting
- biting someone's hand off
- biting someone's head off
- biting the hand that feeds one
- biting off more than one can chew
Words that rhyme with biting
Questions about biting
- What does biting mean?
- Biting means an instance of something being bitten.
- What is biting the present participle and gerund of?
- Biting is the present participle and gerund of bite.
- What part of speech is biting?
- Biting can be a noun or an adjective.
- How do you pronounce biting?
- Biting is pronounced /ˈbaɪtɪŋ/.
- What is the plural of biting?
- The plural of biting is bitings.
Words near biting in the dictionary
Source and license
Adapted from Wiktionary: biting (page history and authors); bite (page history and authors). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.
Last updated:
Pronunciation audio from Wikimedia Commons, each file under its own free license: LL-Q1860 (eng)-Vealhurl-biting.wav.
Cite this entry: “biting.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/biting. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.
