bait

CEFRC2

/beɪt/

noun · verb

Türkçe translations

Translating…

In plain English

  1. 01

    noun

    Food or another object used to attract an animal or person.

  2. 02

    verb

    To deliberately annoy or tempt someone.

Examples

  • Before he went fishing, he dug up some worms for bait.

  • I put a bait on a hook.

At a glance

Sits at C2 on the CEFR scale

Senses
5
Parts of speech
2
Citations
5
Synonyms
5

Deep Dive

noun

Extra meanings

  1. Anything which allures; something or someone used to lure or entice someone or something into doing something.

  2. Food containing poison or a harmful additive to kill animals that are pests.

  3. Any substance, especially food, used in catching fish, or other animals, by alluring them to a hook, snare, trap, or net.

More examples

In context

  • attach bait to a hook

  • catch a few using bait

  • Please stop posting bait, or I will have to mute you.

Synonyms

Quick test

Two questions on this entry. Nothing is scored.

Question 1 · Quick check

To catch a large fish, you need to use a shiny lure as blank on the hook.

Practise this properly in the app, where the word comes back before you forget it.

Nearby

Origin

noun

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.