bail

bail¹ [beıl] n

[Date: 1300-1400; : Old French; Origin: 'keeping someone as a prisoner', from baillier 'to deliver, keep as a prisoner', from Medieval Latin bajulare 'to control', from Latin bajulus 'someone who carries loads']

1.) [U]

money left with a court of law to make sure that a prisoner will return when their ↑trial starts

▪ Carpenter is free on bail while he appeals his conviction.

▪ She was murdered by a man who was out on bail for rape.

▪ The three men were released on bail pending an appeal.

▪ He is not likely to be granted bail .

▪ Carter has been refused bail and will remain in custody.

▪ The judge ordered that Jones be held without bail .

▪ Why can't you ask your father to put up bail for you?

▪ Two of the defendants jumped bail and fled to New York.

▪ Bail was set at $30,000.

2.) [C usually plural]

one of the two small pieces of wood laid on top of the ↑stumps in a game of ↑cricket

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COLLOCATES for sense 1

(out) on bail

release somebody on bail

grant somebody bail

refuse somebody bail

post bail

hold somebody without bail (=make someone stay in prison until their trial)

stand bail/put up bail BrE (=pay someone's bail)

jump bail also skip bail British English (=not return to trial as you promised)

set somebody's bail at something (=say how much bail they must pay)

conditional bail BrE (=bail given if someone agrees to do something)

unconditional bail BrE (=bail given without having to agree to do something)

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bail ²

bail² v

[Sense: 1-2, 4-6; Date: 1600-1700; Origin: bail 'container for liquids' (15-19 centuries), from Old French baille, from Medieval Latin bajula, from Latin bajulus ( BAIL¹); bail out]

[Sense: 3; Origin: BAIL¹]

1.) also bail out

AmE bale out BrE [i]informal

to escape from a situation that you do not want to be in any more

▪ After ten years in the business, McArthur is baling out.

▪ I don't know anybody at this party - let's bail.

2.) [T usually passive] BrE

if someone is bailed, they are let out of prison to wait for their ↑trial after they have left a sum of money with the court

▪ Dakers was bailed to appear at Durham Crown Court.

bail out phr v

1.) bail sb/sth<=>out also bale somebody/something<=>out BrE

to do something to help someone out of trouble, especially financial problems

▪ Some local businesses have offered to bail out the museum.

▪ Sutton bailed his team out with a goal in the last minute.

2.) bail sb<=>out

to leave a large sum of money with a court so that someone can be let out of prison while waiting for their ↑trial

▪ Clarke's family paid £500 to bail him out.

3.) AmE also bale out

to escape from a plane, using a ↑parachute

4.) bail sth<=>out also bale something<=>out BrE

to remove water that has come into a boat