指主动向他人(通常是有权力的人,如官员、职员等)给予金钱、礼物或其他好处,以换取对方利用职权为自己谋取不正当利益(如获得合同、逃避处罚、优先待遇等)。
"offer a bribe" 是及物动词短语,通常需要明确“贿赂的对象”和“行贿的目的”,常见结构有两种:
即“向某人行贿”,其中 sb. 是贿赂的对象(如官员、评委、工作人员等)。
例句:The contractor offered the mayor a bribe to win the construction project.
(那个承包商向市长行贿,以赢得建筑项目。)
与上一种结构同义,更强调“向某人提供贿赂”的动作指向。
例句:He was caught offering a bribe to the customs officer to smuggle goods.
(他因向海关官员行贿走私货物而被抓。)
行贿通常有明确的不正当目的,需用不定式或目的状语补充说明。
例句:The company offered a bribe to the inspector to ignore the safety violations.
(该公司向检查员行贿,让其忽略安全违规问题。)
反义词组:accept a bribe(受贿,指接受他人的贿赂),二者是“行贿-受贿”的对应关系。
例:The official was arrested for accepting bribes from multiple businesses.(该官员因收受多家企业的贿赂被捕。)
语境色彩:属于负面/法律用语,常用于新闻报道、法律文件或道德批评中,强调行为的违法性或不道德性。
时态变化:根据语境使用不同时态,如过去式 "offered a bribe"、现在进行时 "is offering a bribe" 等。
The salesman tried to offer a bribe to the purchasing manager to get his product approved.
(推销员试图向采购经理行贿,让其批准自己的产品。)
She refused to offer a bribe even though the bureaucrat hinted it would speed up her visa application.
(尽管官僚暗示行贿能加快签证申请,她还是拒绝了。)
The police found evidence that the suspect had offered a bribe to the witness to change his testimony.
(警方发现证据,证明嫌疑人曾向证人行贿,让其改变证词。)
综上,"offer a bribe" 是描述“主动行贿”行为的核心短语,重点在于“主动给予好处以换取不正当利益”,使用时需明确对象和目的,且语境多为负面。