bail vs bale : Common Errors in English

« Back to Common Errors

About bail vs bale

You bail the boat and bale the hay.In the expression “bail out,” meaning to abandon a position or situation, it is nonstandard in America to use “bale,” though that spelling is widely accepted in the UK. The metaphor in the US is to compare oneself when jumping out of a plane to a bucket of water being tossed out of a boat, though that is probably not the origin of the phrase.

bail Meaning(s)

  • (n) (criminal law) money that must be forfeited by the bondsman if an accused person fails to appear in court for trial
  • (n) the legal system that allows an accused person to be temporarily released from custody (usually on condition that a sum of money guarantees their appearance at trial)
  • (v) release after a security has been paid
  • (v) deliver something in trust to somebody for a special purpose and for a limited period
  • (v) secure the release of (someone) by providing security
  • (v) empty (a vessel) by bailing
  • (v) remove (water) from a vessel with a container

bale Meaning(s)

  • (n) a large bundle bound for storage or transport
  • (n) a city in northwestern Switzerland
  • (v) make into a bale
Lightning fast vocabulary building for SAT, ACT, GRE, GMAT and CAT