a wound resulting from biting by an animal or a person
"The dog left a painful bite on my arm that bled profusely."
a painful wound caused by the thrust of an insect's stinger into skin
"The mosquito bite on my arm was so itchy that I couldn't stop scratching it all night."
(angling) an instance of a fish taking the bait
"after fishing for an hour he still had not had a bite"
The act of biting.
"The dog gave my arm an unexpected bite while playing fetch."
to grip, cut off, or tear with or as if with the teeth or jaws
"Gunny invariably tried to bite her"
To cut into something by clamping the teeth.
"The dog snapped at my arm and bit deep enough to draw blood."
In plain English: To bite means to use your teeth to cut into something, usually by holding it firmly and pressing down hard enough to break its surface or take off a piece of food.
"The dog decided to bite my shoe when I tried to take it away."
Usage: Use this verb to describe an animal or insect using its mouth to take hold of and potentially injure flesh, such as when describing how mosquitoes bite humans. It is distinct from chewing because it specifically involves piercing skin rather than grinding food.
The word "bite" comes from Old English, where it originally meant to split or cut. Its roots trace back even further to the Proto-Indo-European language, which also conveyed the idea of splitting.