bail
part of speech
noun (bail, bails); verb (bail, bails, bailed, bailing)
meaning for a pupil
1) noun (law): Money paid to a court so a person accused of a crime can stay out of prison until the trial; «on bail» means released this way. tree →
2) verb: To scoop water out of a boat with a bucket (UK also spelled «bale»). tree →
3) noun (cricket): One of the two small wooden pieces resting on top of the stumps. tree →
4) «bail out»: to help someone out of trouble, often with money; or to jump out of a plane by parachute. tree →
5) (slang) To leave suddenly, or to not turn up: «I'm gonna bail», «He bailed on us». tree →
6) To go bail for someone means to promise that they will behave well, or to vouch for them. tree →
sense in the lessons
Heard in news and crime stories (law), sailing and survival stories (bailing water), cricket lessons in the UK, Australia and NZ, and teen talk (bail = leave). Phrases: «on bail», «bail out», «bail on someone».
examples
- He was released on bail. tree →
- We bailed water out of the leaking boat. tree →
- The ball knocked off a bail — out! tree →
- The bank was bailed out by the government. tree →
- The pilot bailed out before the crash. tree →
- It's late, I'm gonna bail. (slang) tree →
- She bailed on the party at the last minute. (slang) tree →
- Grab the bucket and help me bail! tree →
- I'll go bail you won't play such a trick on us again. tree →
note
Homophone: «bale» (a bundle of hay); British English also uses «bale out» for boats and planes. «Bail» in law is money that is given back if the person comes to court.
Trees and pragmatics
Every meaning and example of «bail» parsed by Mova, each sentence with its dependency tree and frames.