to bail
145
4.2
- verb
- /beɪl/
- Specialized
- She had to call her father to help bail her out after the misunderstanding with the police.
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Watch on YouTubeShe said I'm not bailing you out unless you go straight to rehab.
- She said I'm not bailing you out unless you go straight to rehab.
- Like, you know, he got arrested and he got bailed.
- And the judge went to the FBI and said, you know, they should have bailed so that they could fight their case.
- A friend of mine bailed me out within an hour and a half of the arrest.
- Hi, I'm here to bail out my buddy.
Examples
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Nobody ever went to City Hall... except to pay fines or bail somebody out!
-
We passed the hat and got money to bail her out.
Academic text (2005) -
Sometimes I had to go out after them, bail them out of trouble.
Fiction book (1998) -
A friend of mine bailed me out within an hour and a half of the arrest.
-
And we can't raise the money to bail him out until Monday.
-
Rule two: plead not guilty and get bailed out of jail.
Fiction book (2001) -
"But I can't afford to bail her out," he said unhappily.
Fiction book (1996) -
Mardy was certain Hale would bail him out, so he went quietly and without a fuss.
Fiction book (1990) -
Collier was bailed out of jail by Federalist leaders Elias Shipman and David Daggett.
Academic text (2016) -
A kind stranger agreed to bail him out by paying the required amount to the jail.
Synonyms
42
4.4
Pay money to free someone from jail
Antonyms
Phrasal Verbs
Compounds
- Formal
4
6.6
A written promise to pay money if a person accused of a crime does not go to court
Surface Forms
Etymology
Bail (to pay money) comes from the same old idea of 'handing over' money or security, like the action of a bailiff. That's why to bail someone is to give the money so they can be released from jail until their court date.