1. money paid to a court to allow an accused person to be released from jail until trial
Usage: legal

1. to pay money to a court to secure someone’s release from jail
Usage: legal
2. to help someone out of a difficult situation, especially financially
Usage: informal
3. to leave or abandon something quickly
Usage: informal

Examples

• The judge set bail at $10,000 for the defendant.
• His family bailed him out of jail.
• The company needed investors to bail them out of bankruptcy.
• When the meeting got boring, she decided to bail.
• We had to bail water from the leaking boat.
• The bail was too high for them to afford.
• He bailed on the party at the last minute.
• They spent hours bailing out the flooded basement.