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Pop Culture dictionary results for clickbait.

clickbait

American  

[klik-beyt] / ˈklɪkˌbeɪt /

noun

clickbaits plural

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.

Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

• clickbaits
  plural

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

Tell me you’ll walk away from clickbait and focus on sober, steady governing.

From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 6, 2026

And now it’s escalated by the talking heads on TikTok that need clickbait.

From Los Angeles Times • Feb. 20, 2026

It is similar to its internet cousin clickbait, where a headline is used to lure a reader in to view an article or video.

From BBC • Nov. 30, 2025

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