clickbait

American  

[klik-beyt] / ˈklɪkˌbeɪt /

noun

1. a sensationalized headline or piece of text on the internet designed to entice people to follow a link to an article on another web page.

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adjective

1. noting or relating to such internet content.

   Clickbait articles contribute to the online visibility of the news website.

Usage

What does clickbait mean? Clickbait describes misleading internet content or shocking headline titles that aim to drive traffic to a website.

Etymology

Origin of clickbait

First recorded in 1995–2000; click ¹ (in the computer sense) + bait

Example Sentences

Then there’s the real world—the one where readers and viewers lap up celebrity updates, clickbait headlines, and bleed-and-lead news segments.

From Barron's • Jun. 5, 2026

Sabrina, your character in “The Paper” wants to be the managing editor of the Toledo Truth Teller, but she’s really all about the clickbait.

From Los Angeles Times • May 26, 2026

All of this that we’re living through and that our neighbors feel is so much bigger than whatever clickbait outrage is driving the cable news cycle today and will be forgotten by Thursday.

From The Wall Street Journal • May 8, 2026

Speaking to Sky Sports' Gary Neville, the defender warned opinions sometimes strayed into "clickbait, saying things to provoke things, and without thinking about the repercussions for the mental side of players".

From BBC • Feb. 6, 2026

When a film so agonizing is immediately followed by empty, uninformative clickbait articles asking “where are they now” questions about still-grieving children, one has to wonder where the line is.

From Salon • Oct. 21, 2025