bait

[ beyt ]
See synonyms for bait on Thesaurus.com
noun
  1. food, or some substitute, used as a lure in fishing, trapping, etc.

  2. a poisoned lure used in exterminating pests.

  1. an allurement; enticement: Employees were lured with the bait of annual bonuses.

  2. an object for pulling molten or liquefied material, as glass, from a vat or the like by adhesion.

  3. South Midland and Southern U.S.

    • a large or sufficient quantity or amount: He fetched a good bait of wood.

    • an excessive quantity or amount.

  4. British Slang. food.

verb (used with object)
  1. to prepare (a hook or trap) with bait.

  2. to entice by deception or trickery so as to entrap or destroy: using fake signal lights to bait the ships onto the rocks.

  1. to attract, tempt, or captivate.

  2. to set dogs upon (an animal) for sport.

  3. to worry, torment, or persecute, especially with malicious remarks: a nasty habit of baiting defenseless subordinates.

  4. to tease: They love to bait him about his gaudy ties.

  5. to feed and water (a horse or other animal), especially during a journey.

verb (used without object)Archaic.
  1. to stop for food or refreshment during a journey.

  2. (of a horse or other animal) to take food; feed.

Origin of bait

1
First recorded in 1150–1200; Middle English bait, beit (noun), baiten (verb), from Old Norse, probably reflecting both beita “to pasture, hunt, chase with dogs or hawks” (ultimately causative of bíta “to bite”) and beita “fish bait”; cf. bite, bate3

Other words for bait

Other words from bait

  • baiter, noun
  • o·ver·bait, verb (used with object)
  • re·bait, verb (used with object)
  • un·bait, verb (used with object)

Words that may be confused with bait

Words Nearby bait

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024

How to use bait in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for bait (1 of 2)

bait1

/ (beɪt) /


noun
  1. something edible, such as soft bread paste, worms, or pieces of meat, fixed to a hook or in a trap to attract fish or animals

  2. an enticement; temptation

  1. a variant spelling of bate 4

  2. Northern English dialect food, esp a packed lunch

  3. archaic a short stop for refreshment during a journey

verb
  1. (tr) to put a piece of food on or in (a hook or trap)

  2. (tr) to persecute or tease

  1. (tr) to entice; tempt

  2. (tr) to set dogs upon (a bear, etc)

  3. (tr) archaic to feed (a horse), esp during a break in a journey

  4. (intr) archaic to stop for rest and refreshment during a journey

Origin of bait

1
C13: from Old Norse beita to hunt, persecute; related to Old English bǣtan to restrain, hunt, Old High German beizen

usage For bait

The phrase with bated breath is sometimes wrongly spelled with baited breath

British Dictionary definitions for bait (2 of 2)

bait2

/ (beɪt) /


verb
  1. a variant spelling of bate 2

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Other Idioms and Phrases with bait

bait

In addition to the idiom beginning with bait

  • bait and switch

also see:

  • fish or cut bait
  • jump at (the bait)
  • rise to the bait

The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.