Word Pronunciation & Dictionary

take the bait

Word Rarity Rare

Frequency: Zipf frequency 3.85 in modern English

Syllables: take the bait
IPA

20

Scrabble Score

11

Letters

1

Syllables

7

Unique Chars

Meaning

verb

To nibble at bait on a hook.

verb

To be lured by an offer, flattery, or a provocation into doing something, especially something disadvantageous or dubious.

Example Sentences

""I would like to first of all commend all of the police officers today. . . . They were in fact at various times provoked, and they didn't take the bait in any way, shape or form.""
""He wanted to have a discussion about creationism. . . . But I didn't want that sort of discussion, and when I didn't take the bait, I think I spoiled the script that had been running in his head.""
"[T]he singing chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. . . was pressed by our colleague, Washington Post columnist David Ignatius, into demonstrating his reported ability to sing a rendition of the Irish holiday song, “Christmas in Killarney.” The general, improbably, took the bait, and you can now hear it."
"Unlike Bing, GPT-4 usually flat-out refused to take the bait when I tried to get it to talk about consciousness, or get it to provide instructions for illegal or immoral activities, and it treated sensitive queries with kid gloves and nuance."

Etymology

An allusion to a fish swallowing a baited hook.

Inflected Forms

takes the bait (present, singular) taking the bait (participle, present) took the bait (past) taken the bait (participle, past)

Phrases

hook, line and sinker

Frequently Paired Words

hook, line and sinker

Synonyms

strike bite fall for it rise to the bait

Questions

What does take the bait mean?: To nibble at bait on a hook.
Where does take the bait come from?: An allusion to a fish swallowing a baited hook.

How to pronounce take the bait

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