bite off
/ˈbaɪˌtɒf/
"bite-off" is a 7-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“bite off” is uncommon English (outside the top frequency list), classed as a verb. The kind of spelling people second-guess.
- Unranked
- below top-frequency English
- 8
- letters
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - To bite so hard as to remove something from its source.
Corpus desk
Index EN-bite-off · bite off · English
bite off · unranked · 0 variants · 0 confusables
- FREQ-UNRANKED Unranked
- LEN-LONG 8 letters
- VOW-3 3 vowels
- CONFUS-0 No pairs
- VAR-0 0 variants
- BOOK-THIN "B" thin
- PHOTO-UNK Peer pending
Read with this headword: Spelling guide for this pattern
Desk codes from Wiktionary headword shape, FrequencyWords rank tier, confusable-pair count, generated misspelling depth, letter-cohort book size, and photo-finish peer. Not a difficulty grade.
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Headword | bite off |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Verb |
| IPA | /ˈbaɪˌtɒf/ |
| Letters | 8 |
| Misspellings tracked | 0 |
| Confusable pairs | 0 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Long-tail rank of “bite off” in English
Rare enough to double-check
bite off is uncommon English outside the top frequency list, classed as averb, transcribed /ˈbaɪˌtɒf/. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. 3 senses are on record.
We couldn't generate a plausible misspelling set for bite off, a straightforward case of a spelling with little room for common typos. This entry stands alone in our confusable dataset, suggesting its spelling stands apart enough that readers rarely confuse it with something else.
Wiktionary doesn't record an etymology for this headword, so spelling patterns must be inferred from the word's phoneme-to-grapheme mapping rather than from a documented borrowing chain. The correct English form is bite off, spelled B-I-T-E- -O-F-F.
Definition
- 1To bite so hard as to remove something from its source.
- 2To accept or commit oneself to a task, project, notion, or responsibility, especially one which presents challenges.
- 3To acquire, especially in an abrupt or forceful manner.
Recorded use
Wiktionary examplesThese source excerpts show how bite off appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.
Then she cocked her head back, opened her mouth, and bit off the trout's top half.
In between what she called the "goody-good" or "frilly-knickers" Hollywood films, she bit off some more demanding parts back home.
This word in other languages
Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.