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bait

[ beyt ]
/ beɪt /
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noun
verb (used with object)
verb (used without object) Archaic.
to stop for food or refreshment during a journey.
(of a horse or other animal) to take food; feed.
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Origin of bait

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 FROM bait

baiter, nouno·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

1. bait , bate2. baited , bated
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use bait in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for bait (1 of 2)

bait1
/ (beɪt) /

noun
verb

Word Origin for bait

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
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

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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