Find your perfect word!

 

Definition bait

Etymology 1

From Middle English bayte, bait, beite, from Old Norse beita (“food, bait”), from Proto-Germanic *bait? (“that which is bitten, bait”), from Proto-Indo-European *b?eyd- (“to cleave, split, separate”). Cognate with German Beize (“mordant, corrosive fluid; marinade; hunting”), Old English b?t (“that which can be bitten, food, bait”). Related to bite.

Noun

bait (countable and uncountable, plural baits)

  1. Any substance, especially food, used in catching fish, or other animals, by alluring them to a hook, snare, trap, or net.
  2. Food containing poison or a harmful additive to kill animals that are pests.
  3. Anything which allures; something used to lure or entice someone or something into doing something
    1. (Can we verify this sense?) (Internet slang) Material posted online by a troll to elicit an emotional reaction.
  4. A portion of food or drink, as a refreshment taken on a journey; also, a stop for rest and refreshment.
    1. (Geordie) A packed lunch.
    2. (East Anglia) A small meal taken mid-morning while farming.
    3. (Northern England) A miner's packed meal.
    4. A light or hasty luncheon.
Verb

bait (third-person singular simple present baits, present participle baiting, simple past and past participle baited)

  1. (transitive) To attract with bait; to entice.
  2. (transitive) To affix bait to a trap or a fishing hook or fishing line.

Etymology 2

From Middle English bayten, baiten, beiten, from Old Norse beita (“to bait, cause to bite, feed, hunt”), from Proto-Germanic *baitijan? (“to cause to bite, bridle”), from Proto-Indo-European *b?eyd- (“to cleave, split, separate”). Cognate with Icelandic beita (“to bait”), Swedish beta (“to bait, pasture, graze”), German beizen (“to cause to bite, bait”), Old English b?tan (“to bait, hunt, bridle, bit”).

Verb

bait (third-person singular simple present baits, present participle baiting, simple past and past participle baited)

  1. (transitive) To set dogs on (an animal etc.) to bite or worry; to attack with dogs, especially for sport.
  2. (transitive) To intentionally annoy, torment, or threaten by constant rebukes or threats; to harass.
  3. (transitive, now rare) To feed and water (a horse or other animal), especially during a journey.
  4. (intransitive) (of a horse or other animal) To take food, especially during a journey.
  5. (intransitive) (of a person) To stop to take a portion of food and drink for refreshment during a journey.

Etymology 3

French battre de l'aile or des ailes, to flap or flutter.

Verb

bait (third-person singular simple present baits, present participle baiting, simple past and past participle baited)

  1. (obsolete, intransitive) To flap the wings; to flutter as if to fly; or to hover, as a hawk when she stoops to her prey.

Etymology 4

Etymology unknown.

Adjective

bait (comparative more bait, superlative most bait)

  1. (MLE) Obvious; blatant.
  2. (MLE) Well-known; famous; renowned.

Results 493 Words with the letters BAIT

2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
8 letter words with the letters BAIT 
7 letter words with the letters BAIT 
6 letter words with the letters BAIT 
5 letter words with the letters BAIT 
AMBIT 11
BAITH 10
BATIK 12
HABIT 10
4 letter words with the letters BAIT 
BAIT 7
3 letter words with the letters BAIT 
AIT 3
BAT 6
BIT 6
TAB 6
2 letter words with the letters BAIT 
AB 5
AI 2
AT 2
BA 5
BI 5
IT 2
TA 2
TI 2

You can also try words with the phrase BAIT, words starting with the letters BAIT, or words ending in the letters BAIT.