bait
noun · verb
Simple meaning
Food used to attract and catch fish or other animals.
Pronunciation
Say it like this:
baytIPA pronunciation (US)
ˈbeɪt
This word is pronounced essentially the same in American and British English, so one transcription covers both.
IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) is a standard way of writing speech sounds.
Definition
Everyday modern meanings first, grouped by part of speech.
noun
Any substance, especially food, used in catching fish, or other animals, by alluring them to a hook, snare, trap, or net.
Food containing poison or a harmful additive to kill animals that are pests.
Something used to lure fish or other animals into danger so they can be trapped or killed
Anything which allures; something or someone used to lure or entice someone or something into doing something
A portion of food or drink, as a refreshment taken on a journey; also, a stop for rest and refreshment.
A light or hasty luncheon.
verb
transitive
To affix bait to a trap or a fishing hook or fishing line.
Attack with dogs or set dogs upon
transitive
To set dogs on (an animal etc.) to bite or worry; to attack with dogs, especially for sport.
transitive
To intentionally annoy, torment, or threaten by constant rebukes or threats; to harass.
intransitive
Of a horse or other animal: to take food, especially during a journey.
intransitiveof a person
To stop to take a portion of food and drink for refreshment during a journey.
Word at a Glance
- Difficulty
- B2 · Upper Intermediate
- Frequency
- Moderately Common
- Typical Use
- Neutral / general English
Word Aura™
How this word commonly comes across.
Aura for this meaning
This meaning: Any substance, especially food, used in catching fish, or other animals, by alluring them to a hook, snare, trap, or net.
Used this way, bait is a reasonably familiar word that usually carries little praise or criticism of its own. It usually sounds natural in a wide range of settings.
- Emotional tone
- Neutral
- Formality
- Neutral
- Intensity
- Not strongly marked
- How common
- Moderately common
- Connotation
- Matter-of-fact
- Usage feel
- Neutral and straightforward
Word Aura describes common impressions, not a measurement. Tone changes with sentence, speaker, relationship and situation.
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Common Patterns and Combinations
How this word naturally appears with others.
Word Family
Related forms, grouped by how they connect.
Inflected forms
Grammatical variations of the same word.
Harassment especially of a tethered animal.
Compound terms
Established multiword terms.
A deceptive way of selling that involves advertising a product at a very low price in order to attract customers who are then persuaded to switch to a more expensive product.
The single-handed rod casting of a relatively heavy (artificial) bait.
An emaciated horse likely soon to become carrion and so attractive to crows.
Bait scattered on the water to attract fish.
Someone who hates and would persecute Jews.
Related Words
Connected to the same idea, not synonyms.
More about this wordSynonyms, forms, origin
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Dictionary data from Wiktionary via the Free Dictionary API. Simple meanings, combinations and word intelligence are built from verified reference data, no AI is used to load this page.