bait: Meaning and Definition of
bait
Pronunciation: (bāt), [key] — n.
- food, or some substitute, used as a lure in fishing, trapping, etc.
- a poisoned lure used in exterminating pests.
- an allurement; enticement: Employees were lured with the bait of annual bonuses.
- an object for pulling molten or liquefied material, as glass, from a vat or the like by adhesion.
- He fetched a good bait of wood.
- a large or sufficient quantity or amount:He fetched a good bait of wood.
- an excessive quantity or amount.
- food.
—v.t. - to prepare (a hook or trap) with bait.
- to entice by deception or trickery so as to entrap or destroy: using fake signal lights to bait the ships onto the rocks.
- to attract, tempt, or captivate.
- to set dogs upon (an animal) for sport.
- to worry, torment, or persecute, esp. with malicious remarks: a nasty habit of baiting defenseless subordinates.
- to tease: They love to bait him about his gaudy ties.
- to feed and water (a horse or other animal), esp. during a journey.
—v.i.
Random House Unabridged Dictionary, Copyright © 1997, by Random House, Inc., on Infoplease.