bated
Syllabification: (bat·ed)
Pronunciation: /ˈbātid/
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Definition of bated
adjective
(in phrase with bated breath)Origin:
late 16th century: from the past participle of obsolete bate 'restrain', from abate
The spelling baited breath instead of bated breath is a common mistake. Almost a third of citations for this idiom in the Oxford English Corpus are for the incorrect spelling.
