bait

1 of 2

verb

baited; baiting; baits

transitive verb

1
a
: to persecute or exasperate with unjust, malicious, or persistent attacks
bait minority groups
: to try to make angry with criticism or insults
baiting a politician during a debate
b
: tease
2
a
: to harass (a chained animal, such as a bear) with dogs usually for sport
b
: to attack by biting and tearing
dogs baiting a fox
3
a
: to furnish with bait (see bait entry 2)
bait a fishing line
bait a trap
b
: entice, lure
baiting prospective buyers
4
: to give food and drink to (an animal) especially on the road

intransitive verb

archaic : to stop for food and rest when traveling
baiter noun

bait

2 of 2

noun

1
a
: something (such as food) used in luring especially to a hook or trap
using worms for bait
b
: a poisonous material placed where it will be eaten by harmful or objectionable animals
2
: lure, temptation
using bargains as bait for shoppers
Choose the Right Synonym for bait

bait, badger, heckle, hector, chivy, hound mean to harass by efforts to break down.

bait implies wanton cruelty or delight in persecuting a helpless victim.

baited the chained dog

badger implies pestering so as to drive a person to confusion or frenzy.

badgered her father for a car

heckle implies persistent annoying or belligerent interruptions of a speaker.

drunks heckled the stand-up comic

hector carries an implication of bullying and domineering.

football players hectored by their coach

chivy suggests persecution by teasing or nagging.

chivied the new student mercilessly

hound implies unrelenting pursuit and harassing.

hounded by creditors

Examples of bait in a Sentence

Verb baiting hooks with live worms The interviewer kept baiting the politician by asking him whether he was lying. Noun cheese used for bait in mousetraps Wait until the fish takes the bait. a wide selection of lures and baits
Recent Examples on the Web
Verb
Refuse to let anyone bait you into an argument or pressure you to condone changes that aren’t in your best interest. Eugenia Last, The Mercury News, 7 Mar. 2024 The fish struck a size 8 hook baited with a worm—the simplest and most effective bait in the history of fishing. Sage Marshall, Field & Stream, 14 Feb. 2024 So they were baited into performing a silly little dancey-dance to MacLeod’s royalty-free, sick-ass jams. Vulture, 7 Jan. 2024 Users allegedly are also baited into continually upgrading their subscriptions and paying for bonus features that promise to give them a better shot at finding love, but in reality, only boost the company's bottom line. Megan Cerullo, CBS News, 15 Feb. 2024 Sinner consistently baited Medvedev by pulling him into midcourt, only to push him back. Louisa Thomas, The New Yorker, 28 Jan. 2024 Read Next: Expert Late-Season Deer Hunting Tactics Frequently Asked Questions Is the late season a good time to bait deer? Scott Bestul, Field & Stream, 4 Jan. 2024 For these experiments, the boxes were modified to test falcons with talons and sharp beaks, and baited with a piece of raw red meat. Grrlscientist, Forbes, 11 Dec. 2023 On the Hunt For a while, zoo workers tried to lure Flaco back using traps baited with dead rats, but he was unmoved. Ed Shanahan, New York Times, 2 Feb. 2024
Noun
The price of bait and fuel eased somewhat, but the volume of catch didn’t seem to match other recent years, Cousens said. Patrick Whittle, Fortune, 1 Mar. 2024 Berkley PowerBait Panfish Nibbles offer a pliable synthetic bait infused with scents formulated to stimulate feeding. David A. Brown, Field & Stream, 28 Feb. 2024 Showtime’s The Woman in the Wall deploys it as bait to deliver a heartbreaking drama about Ireland’s horrific Magdalene Laundries. Daniel Fienberg, The Hollywood Reporter, 22 Feb. 2024 The 10-part series captures those sacrifices, and goes deep on the harrowing air battles — at times the U.S. planes were basically used as bait to attract German fire. Bill Goodykoontz, The Arizona Republic, 24 Jan. 2024 Biopics have always been pure Oscar bait (hell, Paul Muni was nominated for playing Emile Zola way back in 1938), but of late, the Academy seems consumed with the idea that more is more. Maureen Lee Lenker, EW.com, 23 Jan. 2024 Traditionally, films that seem like Oscar bait are released in the final months of the year and enjoy a boost in ticket sales once nominations are announced. Rebecca Rubin, Variety, 12 Feb. 2024 On a trip two days earlier, Daniel set up his anglers with live wild shiners for bait, which produced three bass over 7 pounds. Steve Waters, Miami Herald, 30 Jan. 2024 If Trump’s legal team took the bait and joined the case, then the former president could be forced to face a grilling under oath on his role in the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the Capitol. Doug Smith, Los Angeles Times, 16 Jan. 2024

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

Word History

Etymology

Verb

Middle English, from Old Norse beita; akin to Old English bǣtan to bait, bītan to bite — more at bite

Noun

Middle English, from Old Norse beit pasturage & beita food; akin to Old English bītan to bite

First Known Use

Verb

13th century, in the meaning defined at transitive sense 1a

Noun

14th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1a

Time Traveler
The first known use of bait was in the 13th century

Dictionary Entries Near bait

Cite this Entry

“Bait.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/bait. Accessed 18 Mar. 2024.

Kids Definition

bait

1 of 2 verb
1
: to torment by repeated attacks
2
: to torment (an animal) with dogs
3
: to put bait on or in
bait a hook
baiter noun

bait

2 of 2 noun
1
: something (as food) used to attract animals to a hook or into a trap
2
: a poisonous material put where it will be eaten by and kill harmful or undesirable animals
3
Etymology

Verb

Middle English baiten "to tease, torment," from an early Norse word originally meaning "to cause to bite"

Noun

Middle English bait "a lure," from two early Norse words, one meaning "pasture" and the other meaning "food"

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