Definition of clickbait
: something (such as a headline) designed to make readers want to click on a hyperlink especially when the link leads to content of dubious value or interest It is difficult to remember a time when you could scroll through the social media outlet of your choice and not be bombarded with: You'll never believe what happened when … This is the cutest thing ever … This the biggest mistake you can make … Take this quiz to see which character you are on … They are all classic clickbait models. — Emily Shire
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Recent Examples of clickbait from the Web
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The Observer, which in its current incarnation spends a lot of time publishing clickbait for anti-Clinton progressives, went up with a story this week attacking Sen. Kamala D. Harris (D-Calif.) for the revealing sin of … meeting with Clinton donors.
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And anything regarding the Cowboys is prime clickbait.
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The spread of fake news and clickbait could be taking its toll on users of Facebook and other social media, despite its value as a news source.
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A change in August was designed to deemphasize stories with clickbait-style headlines.
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Internet clickbait promotes mental tooth decay, squirting synthetic controversy out of a can of Reddi-wip, but an article by Eileen Jones on January 9 went out of its way to swirl it on extra thick.
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The tools Facebook uses for fighting fake news about current events are similar to those used in combating clickbait, which amounts to a different type of fake news.
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Internet clickbait promotes mental tooth decay, squirting synthetic controversy out of a can of Reddi-wip, but an article by Eileen Jones on January 9 went out of its way to swirl it on extra thick.
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That process was then automated, and content identified as clickbait will now appear lower in the news feed than before.
These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'clickbait.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
First Known Use of clickbait
1999
Seen and Heard
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