bite off

present singular third person bites off · participle present biting off · past bit off · participle past bitten off

1. To bite so hard as to remove something from its source.

   Then she cocked her head back, opened her mouth, and bit off the trout's top half.

   1999, Stephen King, The Girl Who Loved Tom Gordon

2. idiomaticsometimestransitiveTo accept or commit oneself to a task, project, notion, or responsibility, especially one which presents challenges.

   We have set a plan that we believe everyone at News Corp. will bite off on.

   2006 January 4, Natalie Pace, “Q&A: MySpace Founders Chris DeWolfe And Tom Anderson”, in Forbes, retrieved 04 Jul 2011

   3 more examples

   In between what she called the "goody-good" or "frilly-knickers" Hollywood films, she bit off some more demanding parts back home.

   1967 July 28, “Actresses: Hayley at 21”, in Time

   "And for the next couple of years, with Nokia having bitten off so much, Vuorilehto is the right guy for the task they face."

   1988 December 29, Steve Lohr, “Risk Inherited at Finnish Concern”, in New York Times, retrieved 04 Jul 2011

   They think it's politically too much for the government to bite off right now.

   2009 October 28, “Healthcare reform: Trigger Unhappy”, in Newsweek, retrieved 04 Jul 2011

   Synonyms: accept, attempt, tackle, undertake

3. idiomatictransitiveTo acquire, especially in an abrupt or forceful manner.

   For R.I.M. to bite off just a tiny piece of that market would help it grow considerably.

   2007 March 26, Laurie J. Flynn, “Maker of Mobile Games Brings Line to BlackBerry”, in New York Times, retrieved 04 Jul 2011

   1 more example

   To thicken that buffer zone Britain joined other powers in biting off larger chunks of China.

   1997, Anthony Spaeth, "And Here the Twain Shall Meet," Time, Special Issue—Hong Kong 1997

   Synonyms: appropriate, grab