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Showing results for baitfish. Search instead for baitfishing.

baitfish

American  
[bayt-fish] / ˈbeɪtˌfɪʃ /

noun

  • baitfish,
    plural
  • baitfishes
    plural
  1. a small fish that is a source of food for a larger fish.

    Fishermen knew the presence of baitfish meant plenty of bass nearby.

  2. Angling. any small fish, as a minnow or shiner, used as bait.


Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms


Etymology

Origin of baitfish

bait + fish


Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

See Examples For:

Forever, the strategy for fishing with artificial lures has been to “match the hatch”—to replicate the baitfish, bugs and other prey that fish snack on.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 12, 2026

It was, the paper suggested, a universal phenomenon: Without enough baitfish, seabirds can’t survive.

From Slate ● Feb. 4, 2024

Silvery schools of baitfish dart and shimmer around the structures, chased by sleek, fast-moving predators.

From Salon ● Dec. 30, 2023

Back in the 1990s and early 2000s, Blue moved through downtown like a barracuda in a shoal of baitfish, dodging open car doors, nipping through gaps in traffic, gliding through intersections.

From Washington Post ● Nov. 29, 2022

Just beyond the harbor, striped bass are feeding on baitfish in the shallows, making a noise my dad used to call “fish grenades.”

From "The Young Man and the Sea" by Rodman Philbrick

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