clickbait
noun
click·bait
ˈklik-ˌbāt 
: 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
Emily ShireExamples of clickbait in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
Harvest insights from user interactions to identify the cream of the crop–posts of the highest quality that transcend clickbait and ephemeral views.
—Vivek Wadhwa, Fortune, 16 Aug. 2023
In the era of streaming and social media, Beyoncé knows that her every public appearance and utterance will be scrutinized, commented on, cross-referenced, circulated as clickbait and hot-taked in both good faith and bad.
—Jon Pareles, New York Times, 31 Mar. 2024
The allegations were obviously made up by you and/or your client to achieve maximum tabloid clickbait value in the hopes of weaponizing these false allegations—along with other lies that permeate the complaint—as leverage to force an unjustified settlement.
—Meredith Woerner, Variety, 7 Mar. 2024
Milan’s designers focused on exquisite craft over clickbait, not so much reinventing the wheel, but keeping it rolling.
—Scarlett Conlon, CNN, 27 Feb. 2024
Altogether, Eastin and Abraham pinpointed nine different websites linked to the Polish IT company that appeared to comprise an AI clickbait network.
—Kate Knibbs, WIRED, 26 Feb. 2024
The remaining full-time reporters are assigned a higher volume of stories and are under intense pressure to garner more engagement, which has led to a bigger crop of clickbait.
—Jennifer Acree, Forbes, 28 Feb. 2024
Think of early YouTube clickbait titles or trollish comments under tweets or Instagram posts meant to incite angry replies.
—Ct Jones, Rolling Stone, 27 Feb. 2024
The obits, authored by fictional journalists, were part of an elaborate death hoax created by anonymous scammers using my name as clickbait.
—Tribune News Service, The Mercury News, 21 Feb. 2024
Vivek Wadhwa, Fortune, 16 Aug. 2023
In the era of streaming and social media, Beyoncé knows that her every public appearance and utterance will be scrutinized, commented on, cross-referenced, circulated as clickbait and hot-taked in both good faith and bad.
—Jon Pareles, New York Times, 31 Mar. 2024
The allegations were obviously made up by you and/or your client to achieve maximum tabloid clickbait value in the hopes of weaponizing these false allegations—along with other lies that permeate the complaint—as leverage to force an unjustified settlement.
—Meredith Woerner, Variety, 7 Mar. 2024
Milan’s designers focused on exquisite craft over clickbait, not so much reinventing the wheel, but keeping it rolling.
—Scarlett Conlon, CNN, 27 Feb. 2024
Altogether, Eastin and Abraham pinpointed nine different websites linked to the Polish IT company that appeared to comprise an AI clickbait network.
—Kate Knibbs, WIRED, 26 Feb. 2024
The remaining full-time reporters are assigned a higher volume of stories and are under intense pressure to garner more engagement, which has led to a bigger crop of clickbait.
—Jennifer Acree, Forbes, 28 Feb. 2024
Think of early YouTube clickbait titles or trollish comments under tweets or Instagram posts meant to incite angry replies.
—Ct Jones, Rolling Stone, 27 Feb. 2024
The obits, authored by fictional journalists, were part of an elaborate death hoax created by anonymous scammers using my name as clickbait.
—Tribune News Service, The Mercury News, 21 Feb. 2024
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'clickbait.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
Dictionary Entries Near clickbait
Cite this Entry
“Clickbait.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/clickbait. Accessed 19 Apr. 2024.
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