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bait
[ beyt ]
noun
- food, or some substitute, used as a lure in fishing, trapping, etc.
- a poisoned lure used in exterminating pests.
- an allurement; enticement:
Employees were lured with the bait of annual bonuses.
- an object for pulling molten or liquefied material, as glass, from a vat or the like by adhesion.
- 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.
- British Slang. food.
verb (used with object)
- to prepare (a hook or trap) with bait.
- to entice by deception or trickery so as to entrap or destroy:
using fake signal lights to bait the ships onto the rocks.
- to attract, tempt, or captivate.
- to set dogs upon (an animal) for sport.
- to worry, torment, or persecute, especially with malicious remarks:
a nasty habit of baiting defenseless subordinates.
- to tease:
They love to bait him about his gaudy ties.
- to feed and water (a horse or other animal), especially during a journey.
bait
1/ beɪt /
bait
2/ beɪt /
noun
- 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
- an enticement; temptation
- a variant spelling of bate 4
- dialect.food, esp a packed lunch
- archaic.a short stop for refreshment during a journey
verb
- tr to put a piece of food on or in (a hook or trap)
- tr to persecute or tease
- tr to entice; tempt
- tr to set dogs upon (a bear, etc)
- archaic.tr to feed (a horse), esp during a break in a journey
- archaic.intr to stop for rest and refreshment during a journey
Usage
Other Words From
- baiter noun
- over·bait verb (used with object)
- re·bait verb (used with object)
- un·bait verb (used with object)
Word History and Origins
Word History and Origins
Origin of bait1
Idioms and Phrases
In addition to the idiom beginning with bait , also see fish or cut bait ; jump at (the bait) ; rise to the bait .Example Sentences
Realizing he could do the same on a large scale, he found a farmer who was breeding insects for fish bait, and recruited him to help launch Ÿnsect.
There are the seafood buffets and bait shops, which give way to newfangled Starbucks.
Jumping worms are often sold as compost worms or fishing bait.
For a sub-30 percent shooter from three, he’s taken the bait too often.
Such baits would be especially helpful if they attract other types of locusts, too, like the desert species.
I hope that there is a trend away from the kind of “click-bait” type of essay that you often see on the Internet.
The gang does bait two officers with Noah, but another car comes tearing in and whisks them both away.
The shift in language and content is click-bait for the enterprising eBay-er.
In November, Maine voters will vote on whether to ban using dogs, traps, and bait to hunt black bears in the Pine Tree State.
Take, for example, these two Great Whites fighting over bait.
The moment the bait was touched, down would come the heavy timber—smash—on the tiger's head.
But what if I catch the fish by using a hired boat and a hired net, or by buying worms as bait from some one who has dug them?
He rushed with ravenous eagerness at every bait which was offered to his cupidity.
I threw out a bait to see if you would snap at it, but I find you timid, and therefore advise you to drop the matter entirely.'
So it ran along and nibbled the bait until its sharp teeth cut the cord.
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Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
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