Word.ws English Dictionary

bait

/beɪt/

bait noun: any substance, especially food, used in catching fish, or other animals, by alluring them to a hook, snare, trap, or net.

Noun

bait (countable and uncountable, plural baits)

  1. Any substance, especially food, used in catching fish, or other animals, by alluring them to a hook, snare, trap, or net.
    • attach bait to a hook
    • catch a few using bait
  2. Food containing poison or a harmful additive to kill animals that are pests.
  3. Anything which allures; something or someone used to lure or entice someone or something into doing something.
    • One of the “girls” used in this way, Pamella Bordes, later spoke of being “part of an enormous group … used as sexual bait.”2017 June 7, Adam Lusher, “Adnan Khashoggi: the 'whoremonger' whose arms deals funded a playboy life of decadence and 'pleasure wives'”, in The Independent, London
    1. Something that lures or entices a specified group.
      • queerbait
      • sequel bait
    2. (vulgar) Someone that attracts or entices a specified sex act being done to them.
      • somno bait
      • snuff bait
  4. A portion of food or drink, as a refreshment taken on a journey; also, a stop for rest and refreshment.
    • A short stop, but no refreshment. Such baits are frequently given by the natives of the principality to their keffels, or horses, particularly after climbing a hill.1824, Thomas Fielding, Select Proverbs of All Nations, page 132
    • The tediousness of a two hours' bait at Petty-France, in which there was nothing to be done but to eat without being hungry, and loiter about without any thing to see, next followed […]1803 (date written), [Jane Austen], chapter XX, in Northanger Abbey; published in Northanger Abbey: And Persuasion. […], volume (please specify |volume=I or II), London: John Murray, […], 20 December...
    1. (Durham, Geordie) A packed lunch - the bite to eat a worker took with them to eat.
    2. (East-Anglia) A small meal taken mid-morning while farming.
    3. (Northern England) A miner's packed meal.
    4. A light or hasty luncheon.
  5. (Internet) A post intended to elicit a, usually strong or negative, reaction from others.
    • Please stop posting bait, or I will have to mute you.

Verb (1)

bait (third-person singular simple present baits, present participle baiting, simple past and past participle baited)

  1. (transitive) To attract with bait; to entice.
  2. (transitive) To affix bait to a trap or a fishing hook or fishing line.
    • a crooked pin […] baited with a vile earthworm1819 June 23 – 1820 September 13, Geoffrey Crayon [pseudonym; Washington Irving], “(please specify the title)”, in The Sketch Book of Geoffrey Crayon, Gent., New York, N.Y.: […] C[ornelius] S. Van...
  3. (transitive) To lay baits in an environment to control pest species.
  4. (transitive) To target a pest species by laying baits.

Verb (2)

bait (third-person singular simple present baits, present participle baiting, simple past and past participle baited)

  1. (transitive) To set dogs on (an animal etc.) to bite or worry; to attack with dogs, especially for sport.
    • to bait a bear with dogs
    • to bait a bull
  2. (transitive) To intentionally annoy, torment, or threaten by constant rebukes or threats; to harass.
    • I remember once before, a mad woman, from about Alnwick, by name baited me with letters and plans — first for charity for herself or some protégé — I gave my guinea— then she wanted to have half the profits of a novel which I was to publish under my name and auspices.1826 February 11 (date written), Walter Scott, “[Entry dated 11 February 1826]”, in David Douglas, editor, The Journal of Sir Walter Scott […], volume I, Edinburgh: David Douglas, published 1890...
    • But [US Vice President J.D.] Vance, the champion of diplomacy, shouldn’t have baited a war-weary man fighting for the survival of his country in the first place.2025 February 28, Jonah Goldberg, “Dishonor and Incompetence in the Oval Office”, in The Dispatch
  3. (archaic, transitive) To feed and water (a horse or other animal), especially during a journey.
    • And than they com into a lowe medow that was full of swete floures, and there thes noble knyghtes bayted her horses.1470–1485 (date produced), Thomas Malory, “Capitulum ix”, in [Le Morte Darthur], book V, [London: […] by William Caxton], published 31 July 1485, →OCLC; republished as H[einrich] Oskar Sommer...
    • The Sunne that measures heauen all day long, / At night doth baite his steedes the Ocean waues emong.1590, Edmund Spenser, “Book I, Canto I”, in The Faerie Queene. […], London: […] [John Wolfe] for William Ponsonbie, →OCLC, page 12
  4. (intransitive) Of a horse or other animal: to take food, especially during a journey.
    • King Cyrus, that he might more speedily receave news from al parts of his Empire (which was of exceeding great length), would needs have it tried how far a horse could in a day goe outright without baiting, at which distance he caused stations to be set up, and men to have fresh horses ready for al...1603, Michel de Montaigne, chapter 22, in John Florio, transl., The Essayes […], book II, London: […] Val[entine] Simmes for Edward Blount […], →OCLC
    • [H]orses' playful neigh, / From rustic's whips, and plough, and waggon, free, / Baiting in careless freedom o'er the leas, / Or turn'd to knap each other at their ease.1821, John Clare, “[Poems.] Sunday Walks.”, in The Village Minstrel, and Other Poems, volume II, London: […] [T. Miller] for Taylor and Hessey, […]; and E[dward] Drury, […], →OCLC, pages 105–106
  5. (intransitive) (of a person) To stop to take a portion of food and drink for refreshment during a journey.
    • For evil news rides post, while good news baits.1671, John Milton, “Samson Agonistes, […].”, in Paradise Regain’d. A Poem. In IV Books. To which is Added, Samson Agonistes, London: […] J[ohn] M[acock] for John Starkey […], →OCLC, page 89, line 539
    • My Lord’s coach convey’d me to Bury, and thence baiting at Newmarket, stepping in at Audley End to see that house againe, I slept at Bishops Strotford, and the next day home.1677 September 22 (Gregorian calendar), John Evelyn, “[Diary entry for 13 September 1677]”, in William Bray, editor, Memoirs, Illustrative of the Life and Writings of John Evelyn, […], 2nd edition...

Verb (3)

bait (third-person singular simple present baits, present participle baiting, simple past and past participle baited)

  1. (intransitive, obsolete) To flap the wings; to flutter as if to fly; or to hover, as a hawk when she stoops to her prey.
    • Kites that baite and beate.c. 1590–1592 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Taming of the Shrew”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward]...

Adjective

bait (comparative baiter, superlative baitest)

  1. (Multicultural-London-English) Obvious; blatant.
    • I've been at home all day / Cloning £50 notes, this is sick / But it's a bit bait / Cause all the serial numbers are the same / So I can't spend them in the same place2008, “Power”, in Famous?, performed by Jamie "Jme" Adenuga and Tim Westwood
  2. (Multicultural-London-English) Well-known; famous; renowned.
    • My face is bait, I can't hide it2017, “Bait Face”, in Godfather, performed by Richard "Wiley" Cowie and Ryan "Scratchy" Williams

bait meaning in Hindi, Tamil, Urdu and Telugu

bait in Hindi

anything which allures
प्रलोभन pralobhan
substance used in catching animals
चारा cārā, प्रलोभन pralobhan

bait in Tamil

substance used in catching animals
இரை irai

bait in Urdu

چارہ, دام, لالچ, چارہ لگانا, دام میں لانا, پھسلانا

bait in Telugu

bait
ఎర era, ఎఱ eṟa
More languagesFewer languages
bait in Malayalam
ഇര ira
bait in Kannada
ತೊಂದರೆ, ಹಿಂಸೆ, ಪ್ರಲೋಭನೆ, ಗಾಳಕ್ಕೆ ಸಿಕ್ಕಿಸುವ ಕೀಟ
bait in Tagalog
pain
bait in Arabic
طُعْم ṭuʕm
bait in Malay
umpan
bait in Indonesian
umpan
bait in Persian
طعمه to'me
bait in Thai
เหยื่อ yʉ̀ʉa
bait in Vietnamese
mồi

Examples of bait in a sentence

  • Before I could move in it, however, I had to wait until we stopped to bait the flagging horses, which we did about noon at the head of the valley.1894, Stanley J. Weyman, chapter VI, in Under the Red Robe:
  • When he [a servant's master] baits at noon, enter the inn gate before him, and call the ostler to hold your master's horse while he alights.1731 (date written, published 1745), Jonathan Swift, “[Directions to Servants.] The Duty of Servants at Inns.”, in Thomas Sheridan, John...
  • At Break of Day we arose, and after a short Repast march’d on till Noon, when we baited among some shady Trees near a Pond of Water […]1743, Robert Drury, The Pleasant, and Surprizing Adventures of Mr. Robert Drury, during his Fifteen Years Captivity on the Island of...

All 40 example sentences with bait

Synonyms of bait

30 more synonymsFewer synonyms

All synonyms of bait

Forms of bait

Noun
pluralbaits
alternative formb8
Verb
third-person singular presentbaits
present participlebaiting
past participlebaited
pastbaited
Adjective
comparativebaiter
superlativebaitest

Past tense of bait: baited

Plural of bait: baits

Origin of bait

From Middle English bayte, bait, beite, from Old Norse beita (“food, bait”), from Proto-Germanic *baitō (“that which is bitten, bait”), from Proto-Indo-European *bʰeyd- (“to cleave, split, separate”). Cognate with German Beize (“mordant, corrosive fluid; marinade”), Old English bāt (“that which can be bitten, food, bait”). Related to bite.

From Middle English bayten, baiten, beiten, from Old Norse beita (“to bait, cause to bite, feed, hunt”), from Proto-Germanic *baitijaną (“to cause to bite, bridle”), from Proto-Indo-European *bʰeyd- (“to cleave, split, separate”). Cognate with Icelandic beita (“to bait”), Swedish beta (“to bait, pasture, graze”), German beizen (“to cause to bite, bait”), Old English bǣtan (“to bait, hunt, bridle, bit”).

French battre de l'aile or des ailes, to flap or flutter.

Words formed from bait

Phrases with bait

15 more phrasesFewer phrases

Words that rhyme with bait

48 more rhymesFewer rhymes

Questions about bait

What does bait mean?
Bait means any substance, especially food, used in catching fish, or other animals, by alluring them to a hook, snare, trap, or net.
What is bait in Hindi?
Bait in Hindi is प्रलोभन (pralobhan), चारा (cārā). See Bait meaning in Hindi.
How do you use bait in a sentence?
Before I could move in it, however, I had to wait until we stopped to bait the flagging horses, which we did about noon at the head of the valley.
What part of speech is bait?
Bait can be a noun, a verb or an adjective.
How do you pronounce bait?
Bait is pronounced /beɪt/.
What is the plural of bait?
The plural of bait is baits.

Words near bait in the dictionary

  1. Baishui
  2. Baisieux
  3. Baisley
  4. Baisleys
  5. Baiso
  6. bait
  7. bait advertising
  8. bait and switch
  9. bait ball
  10. bait balls
  11. bait bill

Source and license

Adapted from Wiktionary: bait (page history and authors); bait (Urdu Wiktionary) (page history and authors); ఎర (Telugu) (page history and authors); bait (Kannada Wiktionary) (page history and authors). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.

Last updated:

Pronunciation audio from Wikimedia Commons, each file under its own free license: en-us-bait.ogg.

Cite this entry: “bait.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/bait. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.