bait

Universal Words noun, verb noun [U,C] 1 food put on a hook to catch fish or in nets, traps, etc. to catch animals or birds: Live worms are used as bait. * The fish took the bait. 2 a person or thing that is used to catch sb or to attract them, for example to make them do what you want: He had chosen the right bait to persuade her to go. * The police used him as bait to trap the killers. verb [VN] 1 to place food on a hook, in a trap, etc. in order to attract or catch an animal: He baited the trap with a piece of meat. 2 to deliberately try to make sb angry by making cruel or insulting remarks: The soldiers remained calm even though the crowd was baiting them. 3 (- baiting) (in compound nouns) the activity of attacking a wild animal with dogs: bear-baiting * badger-baiting