clickbait
/ˈklɪkbeɪt/
Word Rarity
Rare
Frequency: Zipf frequency 2.71 in modern English
19
Scrabble Score
9
Letters
2
Syllables
7
Unique Chars
Meaning
noun
Website content that is aimed at generating advertising revenue, especially at the expense of quality or accuracy, relying on sensationalist headlines to attract click-throughs; such headlines.
Countable; Derogatory; Uncountable
Example Sentences
- "Fairfax's sites are renowned for what is sometimes called ‘clickbait’: headlines written to beguile passing eyeballs but which obscure nondescript or irrelevant stories."
- ""His careful lawyerly writing would be out of fashion now", wrote one commenter after Kettle's piece. "It wasn't clickbait"."
- "In August 2016, leaders at Facebook announced a plan to identify and limit clickbait, because the Facebook newsfeed goal is to “show people the stories most relevant to them.”"
- "In comparison with algorithms used in the past, this SI based technique provided a better accuracy and a human interpretable set of rules to classify clickbaits"
- "What is less clear is whether Maga’s identity crisis reflects a schism among the movement’s rank and file, with the potential for an anti-Trump revolt, or merely the incentives of clickbait-driven social media."
- "Whether they're acts of clickbaiting or dumbness, internet headlines routinely mischaracterize quotes, inaccurately paraphrase statements, and misuse specific terms, all to make readers click."
Etymology
Etymology tree English click Proto-Indo-European *bʰeyd- Proto-Indo-European *-t Proto-Indo-European *bʰéydt Proto-Germanic *bītaną Proto-Indo-European *-yeti Proto-Indo-European *-éyeti Proto-Germanic *-janą Proto-Germanic *baitijaną Old Norse beitabor. Middle English bayte English bait English -bait English clickbait From click + -bait (“manipulation to elicit a particular response”).
Regional Pronunciation
- British English: /ˈklɪkbeɪt/