bear-baiting

¹ American  

[bair-bay-ting] / ˈbɛərˌbeɪ tɪŋ /

Or bearbaiting

noun

1. the former practice of setting dogs to fight a captive bear.

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bear baiting ² American  

[bair bay-ting] / ˈbɛər ˌbeɪ tɪŋ /

noun

Hunting.

1. the practice of placing food or other attractants to lure bears to a particular location so they can be hunted.

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bear-baiting British  

noun

1. (formerly) an entertainment in which dogs attacked and enraged a chained bear

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Other Word Forms

• bear-baiter noun

Etymology

Origin of bear-baiting

First recorded in 1580–90; bear ², bait (in the sense “to set dogs upon for sport”), -ing ¹ ( def. )

Example Sentences

A similar ban on bear baiting, enacted in 2015 during the Obama administration, was rescinded by the 2020 rule, the park service said.

From Seattle Times • Jan. 6, 2023

She was cited for bear baiting, a charge that is still pending.

From The New Yorker • Oct. 26, 2018

Greyhound racing in Australia's most populous state is set to go the way of bear baiting and cock fighting - a sport deemed by authorities simply too distasteful to continue.

From BBC • Jul. 15, 2016

Ten U.S. states currently allow bear baiting, according to Humane Society data.

From Reuters • May 27, 2014

"Baiting of bombard" is a term for sitting and drinking, which Nash in his "Supplycacyon to the Deuyll," calls by the like metaphor, "bear baiting."

From The Mirror of Literature, Amusement, and Instruction Volume 14, No. 387, August 28, 1829 by Various