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• bait-and-switch
  bait-and-switch

  adjective

  denoting a deceptive method of selling, by which customers, attracted to a store by sale items, are told either that the advertised bargain item is out of stock or is inferior to a higher-priced item that is available.
• bait and switch
  bait and switch

  A deceptive commercial practice in which customers are induced to visit a store by an advertised sale item and then are told that it is out of stock or that it is far inferior to some more expensive item. For example, I won't buy a car from this outfit; they're notorious for their bait and switch tactics. The verb to bait has meant to supply a hook or trap with a morsel of food so as to attract a fish or animal since about 1300; the verb to switch has meant to change, alter, or transfer from one thing to another since the 1890s. The pairing of the two, however, dates only from the 1920s, although the practice is surely much older. It is called switch-selling in Britain.

bait-and-switch

American  

[beyt-n-swich] / ˈbeɪt nˈswɪtʃ /

adjective

1. denoting a deceptive method of selling, by which customers, attracted to a store by sale items, are told either that the advertised bargain item is out of stock or is inferior to a higher-priced item that is available.

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noun

1. an act or instance of such practice.

bait and switch Idioms  

1. A deceptive commercial practice in which customers are induced to visit a store by an advertised sale item and then are told that it is out of stock or that it is far inferior to some more expensive item. For example, I won't buy a car from this outfit; they're notorious for their bait and switch tactics. The verb to bait has meant to supply a hook or trap with a morsel of food so as to attract a fish or animal since about 1300; the verb to switch has meant to change, alter, or transfer from one thing to another since the 1890s. The pairing of the two, however, dates only from the 1920s, although the practice is surely much older. It is called switch-selling in Britain.

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Etymology

Origin of bait-and-switch

First recorded in 1955–60

Example Sentences

Instead, the postelection reality feels like a bait-and-switch.

From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 7, 2026

The stylistic bait-and-switch doesn’t just hamper the film’s momentum; it reveals just how silly the entire endeavor up until the climax has been.

From Salon • Mar. 15, 2026

If a dealership lists a fair, all-in price online, they risk looking more expensive than a competitor who uses deceptive bait-and-switch pricing to lure customers in.

From MarketWatch • Feb. 13, 2026

A couple initially expecting to pay less than £50 for a locksmith ended up victims of a "bait-and-switch scam" which ended up costing them more than £5,000, an investigation has found.

From BBC • Jan. 29, 2026

The former brings crackling Paul Greengrass-like energy to a young family’s engagement with America’s bait-and-switch immigration system.

From Los Angeles Times • Feb. 14, 2025

Related Words

• chicanery
• deceit
• dishonesty
• razzle-dazzle
• scam
• shell game
• stunt