noun
- Security, usually a sum of money, exchanged for the release of an arrested person as a guarantee of that person's appearance for trial.
- Release from imprisonment on payment of such money.
- The person providing such payment.
- A bucket or scoop used for removing water from a boat etc.
- A person who bails water out of a boat.
- Custody; keeping.
verb
- To secure the release of an arrested person by providing bail.
- To release a person under such guarantee.
- To hand over personal property to be held temporarily by another as a bailment.
- To remove (water) from a boat by scooping it out.
- To remove water from (a boat) by scooping it out.
- To set free; to deliver; to release.
Pronunciation
About this word
Bail is a 2-meaning word in English. Shorter words have fewer anagrams.
This page shows the definition of bail along with every other word you can make from its letters. Click the link above to see all anagrams and shorter words formed from the same set of letters.
How to use this page
Every word in our dictionary has its own page like this one. Here you can:
- Read the definition — see what the word means, how it is used in context, and which part of speech it belongs to.
- Hear the pronunciation — when an audio recording is available, press the play button to hear the word spoken aloud.
- Browse synonyms — see related words that share a similar meaning, useful for expanding your vocabulary.
- Find anagrams — click "Other words from bail's letters" to see every word you can spell using the same letters.
Words in word games
If you are playing a word game, knowing whether a word is valid is essential. Bail appears in our 370,000-word English dictionary, which includes most words accepted in Scrabble and Words With Friends. However, always check the official word list for the specific game you are playing, as different games use different dictionaries.
Scrabble
In Scrabble, the valid word lists are the Official Tournament and Club Word List (OTCWL/NWL) for North America and the Collins Scrabble Words (CSW) for international play. Our dictionary covers most words in both lists, but some proper nouns, abbreviations, and offensive terms may differ.
Wordle
Wordle uses its own curated word list that is smaller than the full Scrabble dictionary. If Bail appears here, it may or may not be a valid Wordle answer — but it is a real English word regardless.
Try it interactively
Open Bail in the interactive unscrambler →
More word resources
Explore our guides for more word game help:
Or see all our guides on the blog index.