bait
n. C / Un. food or something that looks like food used to catch fish or animals. You can also use this word for something that tricks a person into doing what you want.
n. food or an imitation thereof used to entice fish or other animals into a trap or onto a hook. Figuratively, it refers to any lure or inducement used to manipulate a person into a specific action.
He put a worm on the hook as bait.
The shopkeeper offered a massive discount as bait to get customers into the store.
While the initial offer served as effective bait for new investors, the lack of a long-term strategy eventually led to a sharp decline in market confidence.
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.
From Middle English bayten, baiten, beiten, from Old Norse beita (“to bait, cause to bite, feed, hunt”), from Proto-Germanic baitijaną (“to cause to bite, bridle”), from Proto-Indo-European bʰeyd- (“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 bǣtan (“to bait, hunt, bridle, bit”).
French battre de l'aile or des ailes, to flap or flutter.
Etymology unknown.
Uncountable when referring to the substance used for fishing; countable when referring to specific lures or figurative traps.