bait
/beɪt/
verb
- To put food or an attractant on a hook, trap, or fishing line to lure animals.
- He baited his hook with a small piece of shrimp.
- We need to bait the crab pots before we drop them in the water.
- The hunter baited the trap with apples to catch the bear.
- To deliberately annoy or provoke someone, often to get a reaction.
- The bully kept baiting the smaller kid by calling him names.
- Don't let them bait you into saying something you'll regret.
- She tried to bait him into an argument by insulting his favorite team.
noun
- Food or something attractive used to lure animals, especially fish, so they can be caught.
- We used worms as bait when we went fishing at the lake.
- The trap was set with cheese bait to catch the mouse.
- He bought a container of live bait from the tackle shop.
- Something used to tempt or attract a person to do something, often to trick them.
- The low price was just bait to get customers into the store.
- She used the promise of a promotion as bait to keep him working hard.
- The email offered free money as bait to steal personal information.