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bait

Definition

  • noun: something (such as a piece of food) that is used to attract fish or animals so they can be caught
  • verb: to persecute or exasperate with unjust, malicious, or persistent attacks
  • verb: to put a piece of food on (a hook) or in (a trap) in order to attract and catch fish or animals
  • often used figuratively
  • synonyms: lure, enticement, temptation

Examples

  • The police waited for the bank robbers to 'take the bait'. [=to be tricked into doing the thing that would cause them to be trapped or caught]

  • ('chiefly Brit') The interviewer kept asking the politician whether he was lying, and he 'rose to the bait' by getting angry.

  • She 'baited' the mousetraps with pieces of cheese. = She used cheese to 'bait' the traps.

Movie clips

Movie quotes

  • (..) Now, I'd tried everything on it: Worms, lures, peanut butter, peanut butter and cheese. But on that day I had a revelation: If that fish was Henry Walls' ghost, then the usual bait wasn't gonna work. I was gonna have to use something he truly desired. - Your finger? - Gold. Now, I tied my ring onto (..)
    2003 Big Fish