bail

To pay for one's release from jail. I have to go bail my brother out of jail again. I wonder what he did this time.

To leave or abandon one. Hey, thanks for bailing on me earlier—I was stuck talking to that guy for half an hour! Come on, I highly doubt that Angela would bail on you after one fight.

To leave or abandon one. Hey, thanks for bailing out on me earlier—I was stuck talking to that guy for half an hour! Come on, I highly doubt that Angela would bail out on you after one fight.

To flee; to run away from something. The officer tried to arrest me, but I gave leg bail and sprinted toward my house.

To intentionally not appear in court after having been released on bail, which is a security paid to allow one to avoid imprisonment until one appears in court. Failing to appear results in the forfeit of one's bail. The worst thing you could do is jump bail—then you'll be a fugitive and everyone will think you're guilty.

To have enough money to pay as a security that allows one to be released from prison until one appears in court before their trial. Thankfully I was able to make bail, because having to spend three months in jail just to try and prove I'm innocent would be horrible.

No longer being held in prison while awaiting trial after having paid an amount of money determined by a judge. The former CEO was caught trying to flee the country while out on bail. She was out on bail, so at least she could spend the time before the trial with he children.

To intentionally not appear in court after having been released on bail, which is a security paid to allow one to avoid imprisonment until one appears in court. Failing to appear results in the forfeit of one's bail. The worst thing you could do is skip bail—then you'll be a fugitive and everyone will think you're guilty.

Fig. to rescue someone or something from trouble or difficulty. (Based on bail someone out of jail.) The proposed law was in trouble, but Senator Todd bailed out the bill at the last minute. I was going to be late with my report, but my roommate lent a hand and bailed me out at the last minute.

Fig. to fail to appear in court for trial and forfeit one's bail bond. Not only was Bob arrested for theft, he skipped bail and left town. He's in a lot of trouble. The judge issued a warrant for the arrest of the man who jumped bail.

out of jail after a court appearance and pending trial because bail bond money has been paid. (The money will be forfeited if the person who is out on bail does not appear for trial at the proper time.) Bob got out on bail waiting for his trial. The robber committed another crime while out on bail.

Put up security as an assurance that someone released from prison will appear for trial, as in He didn't think he could make bail for his brother. The use of bail for "security" was first recorded in 1495.

Released from custody on the basis of bail being posted, as in The lawyer promised to get him out on bail. This expression alludes to a payment made to the court as surety that the accused will appear for trial.

Also, jump bail. Fail to appear in court for trial and thereby give up the bail bond (paid to secure one's appearance). For example, I can't afford to skip bail-I'd lose half a million, or We were sure he'd jump bail but he finally showed up. This idiom uses skip and jump in the sense of "evade". The first dates from about 1900, the variant from the mid-1800s. Also see make bail.

If someone who is accused of a crime jumps bail or skips bail, they fail to appear in court when they should. He jumped bail and fled America the day before he was due to stand trial for murder. He was sentenced to an additional three months for skipping bail and going on the run for nine months. Note: `Bail' is money paid to an official in exchange for freedom until a court appearance.

To secure enough money or property to pay the amount of one's bail.

To fail to appear in court after having been released on bail.

To leave, to withdraw. Originally meaning to empty water from a boat using a can or other container, a usage from the early 1600s. Three centuries later, it was transferred to parachuting out of an airplane. Two colloquial senses appeared in the 1900s, both of which can be considered clichés. The first, to bail someone out, means to rescue someone or something, especially from a financial problem. Thus “The opera company was looking for a wealthy donor to bail them out.” The second means to leave or abandon something, as in “No point in waiting any longer to see the doctor, so I’m bailing out now.” And appearing as the noun bailout, the term has been used particularly often with regard to corporations and countries in financial difficulties, as in “In September 2008, as stock markets plunged and credit markets around the globe seized up, Treasury secretary Henry M. Paulson and Federal Reserve chairman Ben S. Bernanke came up with a proposal for a sweeping $700 billion bailout of the nation’s financial institutions” (New York Times, July 1, 2010).