the biter bit

noun

A hurt person who has hurt others in the past.

Meanings

noun

alternative the biter, bit · alternative the biter bitten

  1. UKA hurt person who has hurt others in the past.

    In a case of “the biter, bit”, ex-News of the World journalist, Andrea Vance, had her emails accessed and her movements tracked by the civil service.

    2013 August 6, Malcolm Wright, “Snooping scandal shows disconnect between ranks of civil service”, in The Guardian, →ISSN
    1 more example

    There was a bit of a Twitter storm recently after a bordeaux producer suggested that half the wine critics who rated the en primeur releases didn’t know their fundaments from their elbows. Well, fair enough, the biter bit and all that – chefs often have a go at restaurant critics, too.

    2018 July 6, Fiona Beckett, “Four wines that don't need to make a point”, in The Guardian, →ISSN

Origin

Ellipsis of the biter (is) bit.

Full word history & related roots →

Translations

Finnish pilkattu pilkkaaja
  • pilkattu pilkkaajaa hurt person who has hurt others in the past
French arroseur arrosé, tel est pris qui croyait prendre
  • arroseur arroséa hurt person who has hurt others in the past
  • tel est pris qui croyait prendrea hurt person who has hurt others in the past
Hungarian akasztják a hóhért
  • akasztják a hóhérta hurt person who has hurt others in the past
Polish drań
  • drańa hurt person who has hurt others in the past
Cite this entry
APA

the biter bit. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 4, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/the%20biter%20bit

MLA

“the biter bit.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/the%20biter%20bit. Accessed November 4, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “the biter bit,” accessed November 4, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/the%20biter%20bit.

Source: the biter bit on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.