bearbaiting

American  

[bair-bey-ting] / ˈbɛərˌbeɪ tɪŋ /

noun

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

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Other Word Forms

• bearbaiter noun

Etymology

Origin of bearbaiting

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

Example Sentences

Cruel animal practices persist out of the public eye, including dogfighting and bearbaiting.

From Washington Post

A comprehensive knowledge of something like Shakespeare’s ‘King Lear,’ after all, was indicative of multiple afternoons spent at the playhouse idly enjoying oneself in the company of common citizens, right next door to bearbaiting and brothels.”

From New York Times

It is an intrinsically depraved pleasure, like a taste for bearbaiting.

From New York Times

Noting that bearbaiting was, like the theater of the time, a popular form of entertainment, she folds into her tale a troupe of bears who carp about their degrading lives from inside their cages.

From New York Times

Someday, boxing might seem as repugnant as bearbaiting and cockfighting now do.

From Washington Post