bail

C1 Topic:Money & Finance

US /beɪl/ See IPA manual

Homophones

bale /beɪl/

Minimal pairs

Sounds like bell /ɛ/ vs /eɪ/ Sounds like vail /v/ vs /b/

Freq #3201

Meanings

1

noun
Money paid so that an arrested person can be released until their trial, promising they will return to court.

The judge set bail at ten thousand dollars.
2

verb
To pay money to get someone released from jail until their trial.

She bailed her brother out after he was arrested.
3

verb
To scoop water out of a boat to stop it from sinking.

We bailed frantically to keep the rowboat from going under.

Verb forms

Verb forms are not available for this word yet.

Multiword verbs with bail

bail out Phrasal verb C1

to remove water from a boat by scooping it out

Thesaurus

Synonyms

1 noun · money paid so that an... bond

Word family

Forms bailedbailingbails

Derived forms bail-inbail-outbail-piecebailablebaileebailerbailjumpingbailmentbailorbailoutbailpiecebailsman

Related forms bailiff

Appears in

Phrases (1)

See all

bail out
to remove water from a boat by scooping it out

Verb + adverb

Simplified etymology

Bail represents several historically distinct words. Bail meaning the temporary release of an accused person came through French from Latin bajulare, “bear a burden,” and is related to bailiff; bail meaning “scoop water from a boat” comes through an old word for a bucket based on Latin bajulus, “carrier.” The cricket bail is related instead to Old French baile, “palisade,” probably ultimately from Latin baculum, “rod, stick.”

Etymology

From Middle English baille, from the Old French verb bailler (“to deliver or hand over”) and noun bail (“lease”), from Latin bāiulāre (“carry or bear”), from baiulus (“porter; steward”) (English: bailiff).

baille Middle English bāiulō Latin

View etymology graph ->

Topics

Money & Finance

External links

# bail

**Type:** Word
**Level:** C1
**Part of speech:** noun, verb
**IPA (US):** /beɪl/
**Frequency rank:** 3201

## Meanings
1. Money paid so that an arrested person can be released until their trial, promising they will return to court.
2. To pay money to get someone released from jail until their trial.
3. To scoop water out of a boat to stop it from sinking.

## Examples
- The judge set bail at ten thousand dollars.
- She bailed her brother out after he was arrested.
- We bailed frantically to keep the rowboat from going under.

## Derived Forms
- bail-in
- bail-out
- bail-piece
- bailable
- bailee
- bailer
- bailjumping
- bailment
- bailor
- bailout
- bailpiece
- bailsman

## Related Forms
- bailiff

## Roots and Affixes
- Root: baille
- Root: bāiulō

## Etymology
From Middle English baille, from the Old French verb bailler (“to deliver or hand over”) and noun bail (“lease”), from Latin bāiulāre (“carry or bear”), from baiulus (“porter; steward”) (English: bailiff).

## AI Etymology
Bail is from Middle English baille, from the Old French verb bailler (“to deliver or hand over”) and noun bail (“lease”), from Latin bāiulāre (“carry or bear”), from baiulus (“porter; steward”) (English: bailiff). Important recorded forms include baille (Middle English) and bāiulō (Latin). Current senses include money paid so that an arrested person can be released until their trial, promising they will return to court, to pay money to get someone released from jail until their trial, and to scoop water out of a boat to stop it from sinking. The wider family includes derived forms such as bail-in, bail-out, bail-piece, bailable, and bailee and related words such as bailiff.

## Topics
- Money & Finance

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