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# bail

«bail» in Mova's school dictionary: **noun (law): Money paid to a court so a person accused of…** — its meaning for a pupil, its sense in the lessons and examples.

### 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 →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/B/bail/#m1)

2) verb: To scoop water out of a boat with a bucket (UK also spelled «bale»). [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/B/bail/#m2)

3) noun (cricket): One of the two small wooden pieces resting on top of the stumps. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/B/bail/#m3)

4) «bail out»: to help someone out of trouble, often with money; or to jump out of a plane by parachute. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/B/bail/#m4)

5) (slang) To leave suddenly, or to not turn up: «I'm gonna bail», «He bailed on us». [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/B/bail/#m5)

6) To go bail for someone means to promise that they will behave well, or to vouch for them. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/B/bail/#m6)

### 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 →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/B/bail/#x1)
- We bailed water out of the leaking boat. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/B/bail/#x2)
- The ball knocked off a bail — out! [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/B/bail/#x3)
- The bank was bailed out by the government. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/B/bail/#x4)
- The pilot bailed out before the crash. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/B/bail/#x5)
- It's late, I'm gonna bail. (slang) [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/B/bail/#x6)
- She bailed on the party at the last minute. (slang) [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/B/bail/#x7)
- Grab the bucket and help me bail! [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/B/bail/#x8)
- I'll go bail you won't play such a trick on us again. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/B/bail/#x9)

### 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](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/B/bail/), each sentence with its dependency tree and frames.