Adjacent Words

bait definitions

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WordNet (r) 3.0 (2005)

n
1: anything that serves as an enticement [syn: bait, come- on, hook, lure, sweetener]
2: something used to lure fish or other animals into danger so they can be trapped or killed [syn: bait, decoy, lure] v
1: harass with persistent criticism or carping; "The children teased the new teacher"; "Don't ride me so hard over my failure"; "His fellow workers razzed him when he wore a jacket and tie" [syn: tease, razz, rag, cod, tantalize, tantalise, bait, taunt, twit, rally, ride]
2: lure, entice, or entrap with bait
3: attack with dogs or set dogs upon

Merriam Webster's

I. verb Etymology: Middle English, from Old Norse beita; akin to Old English b?tan to bait, b?tan to bite — more at bite Date: 13th century transitive verb 1. a. to persecute or exasperate with unjust, malicious, or persistent attacks b. tease 2. a. to harass (as a chained animal) with dogs usually for sport b. to attack by biting and tearing 3. a. to furnish with bait b. entice, lure 4. to give food and drink to (an animal) especially on the road intransitive verb archaic to stop for food and rest when traveling • baiter noun Synonyms: bait, badger, heckle, hector, chivy, hound mean to harass by efforts to break down. bait implies wanton cruelty or delight in persecuting a helpless victim <baited the chained dog>. badger implies pestering so as to drive a person to confusion or frenzy <badgered her father for a car>. heckle implies persistent annoying or belligerent interruptions of a speaker <drunks heckled the stand-up comic>. hector carries an implication of bullying and domineering <football players hectored by their coach>. chivy suggests persecution by teasing or nagging <chivied the new student mercilessly>. hound implies unrelenting pursuit and harassing <hounded by creditors>. II. noun Etymology: Middle English, from Old Norse beit pasturage & beita food; akin to Old English b?tan to bite Date: 14th century 1. a. something (as food) used in luring especially to a hook or trap b. a poisonous material placed where it will be eaten by harmful or objectionable animals 2. lure, temptation

Oxford Reference Dictionary

1. n. & v. --n. 1 food used to entice a prey, esp. a fish or an animal. 2 an allurement; something intended to tempt or entice. 3 archaic a halt on a journey for refreshment or a rest. 4 = BATE. --v. 1 tr. a harass or annoy (a person). b torment (a chained animal). 2 tr. put bait on (a hook, trap, etc.) to entice a prey. 3 archaic a tr. give food to (horses on a journey). b intr. stop on a journey to take food or a rest. Etymology: ME f. ON beita hunt or chase 2. var. of BATE.

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Bait Bait, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Baited; p. pr. & vb. n. Baiting.] [OE. baiten, beit?n, to feed, harass, fr. Icel. beita, orig. to cause to bite, fr. b[=i]ta. [root]87. See Bite.] 1. To provoke and harass; esp., to harass or torment for sport; as, to bait a bear with dogs; to bait a bull. 2. To give a portion of food and drink to, upon the road; as, to bait horses. --Holland. 3. To furnish or cover with bait, as a trap or hook. A crooked pin . . . bailed with a vile earthworm. --W. Irving.

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Bait Bait, v. i. To stop to take a portion of food and drink for refreshment of one's self or one's beasts, on a journey. Evil news rides post, while good news baits. --Milton. My lord's coach conveyed me to Bury, and thence baiting at Newmarket. --Evelyn.

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Bait Bait, v. i. [F. battre de l'aile (or des ailes), to flap or flutter. See Batter, v. i.] To flap the wings; to flutter as if to fly; or to hover, as a hawk when she stoops to her prey. ``Kites that bait and beat.'' --Shak.

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Bait Bait, n. [Icel. beita food, beit pasture, akin to AS. b[=a]t food, Sw. bete. See Bait, v. i.] 1. Any substance, esp. food, used in catching fish, or other animals, by alluring them to a hook, snare, inclosure, or net. 2. Anything which allures; a lure; enticement; temptation. --Fairfax. 3. A portion of food or drink, as a refreshment taken on a journey; also, a stop for rest and refreshment. 4. A light or hasty luncheon. Bait bug (Zo["o]l), a crustacean of the genus Hippa found burrowing in sandy beaches. See Anomura.

Collin's Cobuild Dictionary

(baits, baiting, baited) 1. Bait is food which you put on a hook or in a trap in order to catch fish or animals. N-VAR 2. If you bait a hook or trap, you put bait on it or in it. He baited his hook with pie... The boys dug pits and baited them so that they could spear their prey. VERB: V n with n, V n 3. To use something as bait means to use it to trick or persuade someone to do something. Service stations use petrol as a bait to lure motorists into the restaurants and other facilities... Television programmes are essentially bait to attract an audience for advertisements. N-UNCOUNT: also a N 4. If you bait someone, you deliberately try to make them angry by teasing them. He delighted in baiting his mother. = needle VERB: V n 5. If you take the bait, you react to something that someone has said or done exactly as they intended you to do. The expression rise to the bait is also used, mainly in British English. When she attempts to make you feel guilty, don't take the bait... PHRASE: V inflects

Soule's Dictionary of English Synonyms

I. v. a. 1. Put bait upon. 2. Feed (animals), give feed to. 3. Worry, harry. See badger, v. II. v. n. Take refreshment (on a journey). III. n. 1. Lure, decoy, allurement, enticement, temptation. 2. Refreshment (on a journey).

Moby Thesaurus

aggravate, allure, allurement, annoy, badger, bait the hook, baited trap, be at, bedevil, beset, birdlime, bite, blandish, bola, bother, bribe, bristle, brown off, bug, bullyrag, burn up, cajole, carrot, charm, chivy, coax, cobweb, come-on, decoy, decoy duck, devil, discompose, distemper, disturb, dog, dragnet, draw, draw in, draw on, drawcard, drawing card, encouragement, endearment, ensnare, entice, enticement, entrap, exasperate, exercise, fash, fillip, fishhook, flirt, flirt with, fly, get, gill net, give the come-on, gripe, ground bait, harass, harry, haze, heckle, hector, hook, hound, incentive, incitement, inducement, interest, inveigh, inveigle, inveiglement, invitation, irk, jig, lariat, lasso, lead on, lime, lure, meshes, miff, molest, morsel, nag, needle, net, nettle, noose, nudzh, offer bait to, payment, peeve, percentage, persecute, persuasive, pester, pick on, piece, pique, plague, pluck the beard, plug, pother, pound net, profit, provocation, provoke, purse seine, push around, rag, reward, ride, rile, roil, rope in, ruffle, seduce, seducement, seine, snare, sniggle, spinner, springe, squid, stimulation, stimulative, stimulus, suck in, sweetener, sweetening, tease, tempt, temptation, toils, toll, torment, trap, trawl, try the patience, tweak the nose, vex, whet, wobbler, woo, worry