Pronunciations (4)
-
/beɪl/
Pronunciation notes
- General-American
- Received-Pronunciation
-
/bæɪl/
Pronunciation notes
- Australia
-
/beːl/
Pronunciation notes
- India
- North
-
/bejl/
Pronunciation notes
- India
- South
Noun
Security, usually a sum of money, exchanged for the release of an arrested person as a guarantee of that person's appearance for trial.
Usage- Countable
- Uncountable
- Examples
-
He was granted bail for £20000.
More examples (1)
I ſuppoſe vve ſhall hardly Rehearſe the Comedy this Morning; for the Author vvas Arreſted as he vvas going home from King's Coffee-houſe; and, as I heard, it vvas for upvvards of Four Pound: I ſuppoſe he vvill hardly get Bail.
The Eighth Amendment to the US Constitution forbids excessive bail, and state bail laws are usually designed to prevent discrimination in setting bail.
More examples (1)
The purpose of bail is to ensure the return of the accused at subsequent proceedings. If the accused is unable to make bail, he or she is detained in jail.
Release from imprisonment on payment of such money.
Usage- UK usage
- Countable
- Uncountable
The person providing such payment.
Usage- UK usage
- Countable
- Uncountable
A bucket or scoop used for removing water from a boat etc.
Usage- Countable
- Uncountable
- Examples
-
The bail of a canoe […] made of a human skull.
A person who bails water out of a boat.
Usage- Countable
- Uncountable
Custody; keeping.
Usage- Countable
- Obsolete
- Uncountable
- Examples
-
Silly Faunus now within their baile.
Verb
To secure the release of an arrested person by providing bail.
- Examples
-
More examples (1)
For the first time, the arrests broadened beyond payments to police, with a Ministry of Defence employee and a member of the Armed forces held by police before also being bailed to a date in May.
To release a person under such guarantee.
To hand over personal property to be held temporarily by another as a bailment.
- Examples
-
to bail cloth to a tailor to be made into a garment; to bail goods to a carrier
To remove (water) from a boat by scooping it out.
Usage- Intransitive
- Transitive
- Examples
-
to bail water out of a boat
we had hard work to reach our haven, having to bail out the water with my straw hat.
More examples (1)
‘Bail out! bail out!’ yelled Job, ‘or we shall founder.’ I seized a large tin bowl with a handle to it, which was fixed under one of the seats, and the three of us bailed away for dear life.
To remove water from (a boat) by scooping it out.
Usage- Transitive
- Examples
-
to bail a boat
By the help of a small bucket and our hats we bailed her out.
To set free; to deliver; to release.
- Examples
-
Ne none there was to reskue her, ne none to baile.
Verb
To leave or exit abruptly.
Usage- Intransitive
- Slang
- Examples
-
With his engine in flames, the pilot had no choice but to bail.
The Teacher Home Visit Program takes a huge commitment—time, energy, patience, diplomacy. Quite a few schools […] have tried it and bailed.
To fail to meet a commitment (to a person).
Usage- Informal
- Intransitive
- Examples
-
"No one bails on Bennie Milagros. No one, comprende? I'm gonna hold you to that midnight run — "
And I ain't got no help. Goddamn Fitch bails on me, scrambles over to Finance.
More examples (2)
A guy who bails on his young wife and son the way he did. Leaving us to fend for ourselves.
"We'll just tell Peter that you got called back to work. He bails on vacations all the time for that reason."
Noun
A hoop, ring or handle (especially of a kettle or bucket).
- Examples
-
More examples (1)
I reached across beneath the cow to attach a metal bail to each end of the strap so that the bail hung about 5 inches below the cow's belly.[…]While stroking and talking to the cow, I reached under and suspended the machine on the bail beneath the cow, with its four suction cups dangling to one side.
A stall for a cow (or other animal) (usually tethered with a semi-circular hoop).
- Examples
-
More examples (2)
1953, British Institute of Management, Centre for Farm Management, Farm Management Association, Farm Management, 1960, John Wiley, page 160, More recently, the fixed bail, sometimes called the ‘milking parlour’, with either covered or open yards, has had a certain vogue and some very enthusiastic claims have been made for this method of housing.
2011, Edith H. Whetham, Joan Thirsk, The Agrarian History of England and Wales, Volume 8: Volumes 1914-1939, page 191, Ten men thus sufficed for the milking of three hundred cows in five bails, instead of the thirty men who would normally have been employed by conventional methods.
A hinged bar as a restraint for animals, or on a typewriter.
A frame to restrain a cow during milking or feeding.
Usage- Australia
- New-Zealand
- Examples
-
She had the next bail to me, and told me off in between bucketfuls of milk.
More examples (1)
But until he had poured enough milk into the vat above the separator, I drove unmilked cows into the bail where he had previously milked and released one. He moved from one bail to the other to milk the next one I had readied. I drove each cow into the empty bail, chained her in, roped the outer hind leg then washed and massaged the udder and teats.
A hoop, ring, or other object used to connect a pendant to a necklace.
One of the two wooden crosspieces that rest on top of the stumps to form a wicket.
- Examples
-
More examples (1)
As Jason Roy's throw came in from deep mid-wicket, a diving Guptill was short when Buttler removed the bails, sending England and the whole of Lord's into delirious celebrations.
Normally curved handle suspended between sockets as a drawer pull. This may also be on a kettle or pail.
Verb
To secure the head of a cow during milking.
Verb
To confine.
Usage- Rare
To secure (a cow) by placing its head in a bail for milking.
Usage- Australia
- New-Zealand
To keep (a traveller) detained in order to rob them; to corner (a wild animal); loosely, to detain, hold up.
Usage- Australia
- New-Zealand
- usually
- with-up
- Examples
-
The transition over the rooftop would have been quicker if Sellers had not been bailed up by a particularly hostile spiritual presence speaking Swedish.
While celebrating our “graduation”, a handsome Scot bailed me up outside a pub and insisted I help him solve the cryptic crossword.
Noun
(criminal law) money that must be forfeited by the bondsman if an accused person fails to appear in court for trial
- Broader terms
- Examples
-
the judge set bail at $10,000
a $10,000 bond was furnished by an alderman
the legal system that allows an accused person to be temporarily released from custody (usually on condition that a sum of money guarantees their appearance at trial)
- Broader terms
- Examples
-
he is out on bail
Verb
release after a security has been paid
deliver something in trust to somebody for a special purpose and for a limited period
secure the release of (someone) by providing security
empty (a vessel) by bailing
- Broader terms
remove (water) from a vessel with a container