baiting 1 of 2

baiting

2 of 2

verb

present participle of bait

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 baiting
Verb
Another day, another millennial-nostalgia-baiting sequel to a classic late 1990s or early 2000s movie. Lauren O’Neill, Vogue, 29 Aug. 2026 Warriors fans might just have to stomach a few shameless foul-baiting antics in a late back-to-back in Oklahoma City. Joseph Dycus, Mercury News, 13 Aug. 2026 The genre, with its sanitized storylines and Oscar-baiting pretensions, seems fundamentally at odds with the iconoclastic chef and television personality. Seija Rankin, HollywoodReporter, 6 Aug. 2026 When baiting large animals was outlawed in the 1800s, people turned instead to fighting their dogs against each other. Kimi Robinson, USA Today, 3 Aug. 2026 Below, in the second half of the same game, the two holding midfielders (yellow) and full-backs (white) both stay deep, baiting the press. Anantaajith Raghuraman, New York Times, 30 July 2026 Better Than a Scammer Laurent Giovannoni is a principal software engineer at Filigran, a threat intelligence platform, and will present code for ScamBuster, a scam-baiting program designed to waste scammers’ time and energy. Kim Key, PC Magazine, 30 July 2026 Race-baiting narratives and professional victimhood have become staples of his brand. Alejandro Avila Outkick, FOXNews.com, 29 July 2026 Beasley had been baiting Preston’s jumper all night and playing mind games with other JHX Hoops members in between game action. Latif Love july 23, Kansas City Star, 23 July 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for baiting
Adjective
  • To get a sense of his whole deal, look no further than the half-mocking, half-earnest title of his latest album, Country!
    Jonathan Bernstein, Rolling Stone, 23 Sep. 2025
Verb
  • And nipped any indication that Williams was taunting the 45-year-old coach in the bud.
    Alex Zietlow, Charlotte Observer, 14 Sep. 2026
  • The big house sat clear, taunting their one‑room shack with its size, her children somewhere swallowed in the expansiveness of the land.
    Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 2 Sep. 2026
Verb
  • The moody Moon squares enthusiastic Jupiter early this morning, tempting us to spend too much, promise too much, or turn one feeling into a full production.
    Tarot.com, Baltimore Sun, 2 Sep. 2026
  • However, when one of the three women feels guilty about snubbing their lifelong pal, Mel shows up and suddenly the weekend turns to complete chaos, tempting the trio to break free from the madness that has hobbled their friend group for years.
    Tim Lammers, Forbes.com, 21 Aug. 2026
Adjective
  • But for those who find (and in some cases may be slightly mystified as to why) that there is a nagging, needling value to Schrader’s ongoing project of tussling with grandiose dilemmas of transgression and deliverance, there is some new news here.
    Jessica Kiang, Variety, 4 Sep. 2026
  • Then, Metric’s peak came on 2009’s Fantasies, which paired needling electronics with thumping drum programming; both it and its follow-up, Synthetica, hit the top 10 on the Canadian albums chart and went platinum in Canada.
    Ethan Beck, Pitchfork, 4 May 2026
Verb
  • The full trailer — teasing what’s to come in episodes 1-8 — is out and totally re-watchable.
    Lindsay Kimble, PEOPLE, 2 Sep. 2026
  • After years spent teasing a legally impossible third term, Trump is now describing life after January 2029, picturing himself at home as a successor claims credit.
    Will Weissert, Los Angeles Times, 31 Aug. 2026
Verb
  • The words themselves feel poetic, almost decadent, but the images are robbed of their power to meet them, as each frame feels aimed only at presenting, rather than luring or excavating.
    Siddhant Adlakha, IndieWire, 8 Sep. 2026
  • Using that relationship, Epstein had posed as a talent scout for the brand, luring young women to his hotel room under the pretext of auditions.
    Jennifer Wilson, New Yorker, 7 Sep. 2026
Adjective
  • There was also an August 2024 incident at Fenway when Duran hurled a homophobic slur at a heckling fan.
    Greg Dudek, Hartford Courant, 28 June 2026
  • Charles Barkley was once spitting mad at a heckling fan, and his expectoration wound up splashing on an 8-year-old girl.
    Jon Greenberg, New York Times, 22 May 2026
Verb
  • Adva Lavie, an OnlyFans model, already is facing criminal charges in Los Angeles County for allegedly seducing and stealing from rich men.
    Richard Winton, Los Angeles Times, 17 Sep. 2026
  • Still, with more than 40,000 industry jobs lost in the past few years, soundstages and vendor storefronts sitting empty, and lucrative overseas incentives seducing even more production away, things are bleak in town right now.
    Dominic Patten, Deadline, 6 Aug. 2026

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Cite this Entry

“Baiting.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/baiting. Accessed 18 Sep. 2026.

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