bite down

English

Verb

bite down (third-person singular simple present bites down, present participle biting down, simple past bit down, past participle bitten down)

  1. (intransitive) To bite (something) very hard and usually for a purpose (like to hold it in one's mouth).
    Biting down on my wallet, I had two hands free to open the door.
  2. (intransitive) To clench with one's teeth.
    He bit down to force himself not to say anything.
  3. (figurative, transitive) To repress or bite back an (emotion, impulse or reaction).
    She bit down on the urge to strike the woman who had wronged her.
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