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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

Popular chatbots represent a bait and switch, promising connection while farming our attention and claiming to help productivity while eroding meaningful work.

From The Wall Street Journal • Jan. 15, 2026

But Mr Navarra said introducing fees for a service that had previously been free, and users had been encouraged to use as such, may feel like a "bait and switch" for some.

From BBC • Oct. 6, 2025

Primarily because their business model was based on bait and switch with customers.

From Los Angeles Times • Sep. 15, 2025

And the filing suggests that one of the group’s top officials, Nancy Jacobson, has been part of the bait and switch that the Dursts claim.

From New York Times • Jan. 23, 2024

According to an account by Galen, it was Euergetes who was responsible for one of the most notorious acts of bait and switch in ancient history.

From "Circumference" by Nicholas Nicastro

Related Words

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