bait
• noun 1 food put on a hook or in a trap to entice fish or other animals. 2 variant spelling of BATE. • verb 1 taunt or tease. 2 set dogs on (a trapped or restrained animal). 3 put bait on or in. — PHRASES rise to the bait react to a provocation exactly as intended. — ORIGIN Old Norse, ‘pasture, food’.
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