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.
(..) He's a whale ofa whale. Why, he swallows whole ships alive. Tie it good and tight now. And besides, it's dangerous. - Why, l-- - Bye,Jiminy. Goodbye? l may be live bait down there, but l'm with ya. Come on, let's go. Look out below! Gangway, down there. Gee, what a big place. (..)1940 Pinocchio