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bait

Syllabification: (bait)
Pronunciation: /bāt/

Translate bait | into French | into German | into Italian | into Spanish
Definition of bait

noun

  • 1food used to entice fish or other animals as prey:herrings make excellent bait for pike fishing with live baits
  • an allurement; a thing intended to tempt or entice:she used the prospect of freedom as bait to trap him into talking many potential buyers are reluctant to take the bait

verb

[with object]
  • 1deliberately annoy or taunt (someone):the other boys reveled in baiting him about his love of literature
  • torment (a trapped or restrained animal), especially by allowing dogs to attack it.
  • 2prepare (a hook, trap, net, or fishing area) with bait to entice fish or animals as prey:she baited a trap with carrots and corn

Phrases

fish or cut bait

informal stop vacillating and act on something or disengage from it:when it comes to flagging brands, companies are being forced to fish or cut bait

rise to the bait

react to a provocation or temptation exactly as intended:Jenny was being provocatively rude, but he never rose to the bait

with baited breath

misspelling of with bated breath at bated.

Derivatives

baiter

noun

Origin:

Middle English: from Old Norse beit 'pasture, food', beita 'to hunt or chase'

See bated (usage).

bait in other Oxford dictionaries

Definition of bait in the British & World English dictionary

Nearby words

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