bait
Worm on hook
Bait is something used to lure prey—worms on a fishhook, cheese in a mousetrap.
The verb means to set such a lure or to entice: They baited the trap with peanut butter.
To bait someone is to provoke or tease them, trying to get a reaction: He kept baiting her until she lost her temper.
Online, bait describes content designed to trigger engagement: rage bait, clickbait.
To take the bait is to fall for a provocation or trick.
Device for catching animals
- lureThing that tempts
- trickDeliberate deception
- ruseDeliberate act of deception
- ployCalculated deceptive tactic
decoy · subterfuge · entrapment · setup · sting · honeypot · con · scheme
Device for catching animals
- snareDevice for catching prey
- scentAirborne odor detected
- trailPath through wilderness
- quarryPit for extracting rock
deadfall · pitfall · lure · decoy · attractant · blind · ambush · stakeout
Thing that tempts
Thing that tempts
- allureAttractive, tempting quality
- enticementSomething that attracts
- temptationUrge toward the unwise
- seductionEnticing someone romantically
attraction · inducement · invitation · appeal · desire · forbidden · irresistible · tantalizing
Insulting provocation
- goadIncite to action
- provokeIncite a response
- antagonizeIncite hostility in
- inciteUrge toward action
tease · needle · harass · torment · mock · ridicule · insult · jeer
News article title
- sensationalArousing intense excitement
- viralSpreading quickly online
- engagementCommitment to wed or attend
- outrageFierce moral indignation
trap
Device for catching animals
ploy · decoy · subterfuge · entrapment · setup · sting · honeypot · con · scheme · scam
trap
Device for catching animals
quarry · deadfall · pitfall · lure · decoy · attractant · blind · ambush · stakeout · carrion
lure
Thing that tempts
tackle · line · rod · reel · cast · bobber · chum · fly · jig · spinner
lure
Thing that tempts
- allureAttractive, tempting quality
- enticementSomething that attracts
- temptationUrge toward the unwise
seduction · attraction · inducement · invitation · appeal · desire · forbidden · irresistible · tantalizing · weakness
taunt
Insulting provocation
- goadIncite to action
- provokeIncite a response
- antagonizeIncite hostility in
incite · tease · needle · harass · torment · mock · ridicule · insult · jeer · heckle
headline
News article title
- sensationalArousing intense excitement
- viralSpreading quickly online
- engagementCommitment to wed or attend
outrage · misleading · thumbnail · algorithm · shareability
- fishingfishing rod, fish, angling, bass fishing, fishing gear
- fishing industrycommercial fishing, fishing fleet, fishing vessels, fishing ports, fishing port
- freshwater fishingfreshwater fishing, trout fishing, salmon fishing, freshwater fish, bass fishing
- huntingdeer hunting, hunting rifle, hunters, tracking, hunting license
- pest controlinsecticide, rat trap, pesticide, mousetrap, exterminator
- enticementsenticement, inducement, lure, allure, temptation
- take the baitAccept a deceptive offer
- click baitSensationalized content for traffic
- bait and switchFraudulent sales tactic
- cutting baitAbandoning a failing pursuit
- live baitLiving creature attracting fish
- fish or cut baitUltimatum to the hesitant
baited, baits, baiting, baiters, baiter, shark bait, fishbait, bait-and-switch