Such smiling rogues as these, Like rats, oft bite
the holy cords atwain. --Shak.
2. To puncture, abrade, or sting with an organ (of some
insects) used in taking food.
3. To cause sharp pain, or smarting, to; to hurt or injure,
in a literal or a figurative sense; as, pepper bites the
mouth. ``Frosts do bite the meads.'' --Shak.
4. To cheat; to trick; to take in. [Colloq.] --Pope.
5. To take hold of; to hold fast; to adhere to; as, the
anchor bites the ground.
The last screw of the rack having been turned so
often that its purchase crumbled, . . . it turned
and turned with nothing to bite. --Dickens.
{To bite the dust}, {To bite the ground}, to fall in the
agonies of death; as, he made his enemy bite the dust.
{To bite in} (Etching), to corrode or eat into metallic
plates by means of an acid.
{To bite the thumb at} (any one), formerly a mark of
contempt, designed to provoke a quarrel; to defy. ``Do you
bite your thumb at us?'' --Shak.
{To bite the tongue}, to keep silence. --Shak.