bait and switch

noun

1
: a sales tactic in which a customer is attracted by the advertisement of a low-priced item but is then encouraged to buy a higher-priced one
2
: the ploy of offering a person something desirable to gain favor (such as political support) then thwarting expectations with something less desirable

Examples of bait and switch in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web But the annual budget bill process achieves new levels of absurdity because of both a bait and switch change to the constitution in 2010 and the fact that California is now a one-party state. Jon Coupal, Orange County Register, 25 Feb. 2024 But the film begins with yet another bait and switch: a brief segment starring Henry Cavill as Aubrey Argylle, the Bond-ish hero of Elly Conway’s novels, and his villainous opponent, a faux-Bond girl played by the pop star Dua Lipa. Kyle Chayka, The New Yorker, 13 Feb. 2024 Slow Horses’s new season opens with an atmospheric Istanbul sequence that injects energy and plot context but also feels like a slight bait and switch. J. Oliver Conroy, Washington Examiner, 12 Jan. 2024 The couture show involved a clever bait and switch: guests were funnelled through the back door of the Palais Garnier and, unbeknownst to them, onto the main opera-house stage. Rachel Syme, The New Yorker, 18 Sep. 2023 Learning about astrology can sometimes feel like a bait and switch. Madison Feller, ELLE, 6 Sep. 2023 This bait and switch went so far that the late former Fiat Chrysler boss Sergio Marchionne famously urged U.S. consumers not to buy his Fiat 500e. Christiaan Hetzner, Fortune, 2 Aug. 2023 Many of these concerns are driven by a sense that the past decade was an elaborate bait and switch. Josef Adalian, Vulture, 6 June 2023 But to assure the public that the new taxes weren’t some sort of a bait and switch, lawmakers made the new fund’s purpose clear. Kyle Whitmire, al, 6 Apr. 2023

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'bait and switch.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

First Known Use

1962, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Time Traveler
The first known use of bait and switch was in 1962

Dictionary Entries Near bait and switch

Cite this Entry

“Bait and switch.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/bait%20and%20switch. Accessed 19 Mar. 2024.

Legal Definition

bait and switch

noun
: a fraudulent or deceptive sales practice in which a purchaser is attracted by advertisement of a low-priced item but then is encouraged to purchase a higher-priced one

called also bait advertising

More from Merriam-Webster on bait and switch

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