| 1. | food, or some substitute, used as a lure in fishing, trapping, etc. |
| 2. | a poisoned lure used in exterminating pests. |
| 3. | an allurement; enticement: Employees were lured with the bait of annual bonuses. |
| 4. | an object for pulling molten or liquefied material, as glass, from a vat or the like by adhesion. |
| 5. | South Midland and Southern U.S.
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| 6. | British Slang. food. |
| 7. | to prepare (a hook or trap) with bait. |
| 8. | to entice by deception or trickery so as to entrap or destroy: using fake signal lights to bait the ships onto the rocks. |
| 9. | to attract, tempt, or captivate. |
| 10. | to set dogs upon (an animal) for sport. |
| 11. | to worry, torment, or persecute, esp. with malicious remarks: a nasty habit of baiting defenseless subordinates. |
| 12. | to tease: They love to bait him about his gaudy ties. |
| 13. | to feed and water (a horse or other animal), esp. during a journey. |
| 14. | to stop for food or refreshment during a journey. |
| 15. | (of a horse or other animal) to take food; feed. |
bait 2 (bāt) v. Variant of bate2. |
bait
In addition to the idiom beginning with bait, also see fish or cut bait; jump at (the bait); rise to the bait.