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bait

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verb

Synonym Chooser

How is the word bait distinct from other similar verbs?

Some common synonyms of bait are badger, chivy, heckle, hector, and hound. While all these words mean "to harass by efforts to break down," bait implies wanton cruelty or delight in persecuting a helpless victim.

baited the chained dog

When can badger be used instead of bait?

Although the words badger and bait have much in common, badger implies pestering so as to drive a person to confusion or frenzy.

badgered her father for a car

When would chivy be a good substitute for bait?

While the synonyms chivy and bait are close in meaning, chivy suggests persecution by teasing or nagging.

chivied the new student mercilessly

When is it sensible to use heckle instead of bait?

The words heckle and bait are synonyms, but do differ in nuance. Specifically, heckle implies persistent annoying or belligerent interruptions of a speaker.

drunks heckled the stand-up comic

When could hector be used to replace bait?

The words hector and bait can be used in similar contexts, but hector carries an implication of bullying and domineering.

football players hectored by their coach

Where would hound be a reasonable alternative to bait?

The meanings of hound and bait largely overlap; however, hound implies unrelenting pursuit and harassing.

hounded by creditors

Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of bait
Noun
That’s probably gonna go up on the wall with the blade bait beside the mount. Dac Collins, Outdoor Life, 15 Oct. 2025 After The Hunt is a perfect Oscar-bait film. Rachel Choy, Refinery29, 14 Oct. 2025
Verb
But its captain learned nothing from his passengers, the main reason being that the captain did not have a chance to bait hooks. Eric Duvall, San Diego Union-Tribune, 17 Sep. 2025 Trolling crank baits along points and flats 15 feet deep over deeper water should still work. Arkansas Online, 16 Sep. 2025 See All Example Sentences for bait
Recent Examples of Synonyms for bait
Noun
  • This, too, meshes with the politics of the time, given the lure that Canada had for those fleeing the draft, and the dangers faced by refuseniks who stayed behind.
    Richard Brody, New Yorker, 15 Oct. 2025
  • According to Hanke, Milei’s big loss in the Buenos Aires contest and the acceleration in the peso’s decline confirmed the Money Doctor’s warning that the inevitable lure for mismanaging the peso was Milei’s Achilles’ heel.
    Shawn Tully, Fortune, 8 Oct. 2025
Noun
  • Is there a temptation to restore Murillo?
    Paul Taylor, New York Times, 16 Oct. 2025
  • It is made up of Marcus Aurelius’s advice to himself, produced perhaps as an antidote to being constantly surrounded by and subjected to the temptation and corruption of life as Emperor.
    The New Yorker, New Yorker, 15 Oct. 2025
Verb
  • Upon further review, Bears defensive back Tyrique Stevenson could be seen taunting the crowd as the play started, mere seconds before Commanders quarterback Jayden Daniels completed the 52-yard touchdown to get his team the win.
    Gabe Smallson, MSNBC Newsweek, 13 Oct. 2025
  • These included letters from BTK himself, taunting police on being unable to catch him.
    CT Jones, Rolling Stone, 11 Oct. 2025
Verb
  • Dining options are so good you may be tempted to stay on the property for your meals.
    Sara Liss, Bon Appetit Magazine, 14 Oct. 2025
  • And just in case they are tempted, Ghost has adopted a strict no-phones policy at its shows.
    Mackenzie Cummings-Grady, Billboard, 14 Oct. 2025
Noun
  • GahnSmith is joined by Jay Frandsen, a Parks ecosystem scientist conducting water surveys and checking camera traps along the journey.
    Chloe Berge, AFAR Media, 15 Oct. 2025
  • Even experienced users can fall for these traps.
    Atharva Gosavi, Interesting Engineering, 14 Oct. 2025
Verb
  • Jenner, 28, began teasing the song earlier in the day on Monday, sharing the cover art in a post to her Instagram account.
    Amy McCarthy, PEOPLE, 14 Oct. 2025
  • SpaceX teases a return to eye-catching booster landings After using most of its fuel and propelling Starship toward space, the Super Heavy on Monday safely broke away from the upper Starship spacecraft and veered back toward Earth.
    Jackie Wattles, CNN Money, 14 Oct. 2025
Verb
  • Countless service members were seduced by the region’s beauty and fair weather and chose to settle here.
    Gary Robbins, San Diego Union-Tribune, 12 Oct. 2025
  • Models walking his sultry runway seduced the audience in beautiful suiting, a dress with a plunging neckline that mirrored an equally high slit.
    Fiona Sinclair Scott, CNN Money, 8 Oct. 2025
Noun
  • Bella Vista Property Owners Association members and their guests may remove grass carp with hook and line or bowfishing.
    Arkansas Online, Arkansas Online, 14 Oct. 2025
  • The new hook Sunglasses and keychains may have been high-end fashion's gateway purchases of the past.
    Monica Pitrelli,Zamrooth Nisha, CNBC, 14 Oct. 2025

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Cite this Entry

“Bait.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/bait. Accessed 20 Oct. 2025.

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