bates
v. C2 Proficiency US //ˈbeɪts// UK //bˈeɪts// bates
v. to make something less strong or intense. It is almost always used in the phrase 'with bated breath' to describe waiting for something with great excitement or worry.
v. to moderate, restrain, or reduce the force or intensity of something. In modern usage, it survives almost exclusively as the past participle 'bated' within the fixed idiom 'with bated breath'.
We waited with bated breath for the results.
The crowd watched with bated breath as the acrobat walked across the high wire without a safety net.
Usage
The verb is transitive but is rarely used outside of the fixed adjectival form 'bated'.
Pitfall
with baited breathwith bated breathLearners often confuse 'bated' (restrained) with 'baited' (having food put on a hook to catch an animal).