bait
/beɪt/noun, verb, adjective
bait is spelled B-A-I-T: 4 letters and one syllable. It appears 7.1 times per million words in written English, the 8,918th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). People search “bait vs bate” about 110 times a month (Google, United States). As a noun, bait means “Any substance, especially food, used in catching fish, or other animals, by alluring them to a hook, snare, trap, or net” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). The plural of bait is baits.
How many letters and syllables are in bait?
| Letters | 4: B-A-I-T |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 1 (from its American pronunciation) |
| In writing | 7.1 times per million words; the 8,918th most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
| Pairs people search | |
| Sounds like | |
| Same letters |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation and the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media); Bing searches in the United States: the average month from September 2025 to August 2026 (Microsoft Advertising keyword data through DataForSEO, read September 30, 2026); rhymes and same-letter words are computed by PlainSpell from its own word list.
How common is bait?
Bait appears 7.1 times per million words in written English, the 8,918th most frequent word form in the list.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How do you pronounce bait?
- /beɪt/
Bait has one syllable (counted from its American pronunciation in the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: En-us-bait.ogg, LL-Q1860_(eng)-Flame,_not_lame--bait.wav, LL-Q1860_(eng)-Flame,_not_lame--bait.wav, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
Words people confuse with bait
Word pairs people search, with the monthly searches for “a vs b” (G: Google, B: Bing, United States).
Sounds like: bate (Wiktionary's homophone list; some hold only in some accents).
Sources: Google and Bing searches (September 2025 to August 2026, through DataForSEO); English Wiktionary (homophones, alternative spellings).
What rhymes with bait?
No other word on PlainSpell ends in the same sounds as bait.
Spelled with the same letters in another order: tabi.
Computed by PlainSpell from the pronunciations in the English Wiktionary (dump of September 2, 2026): a rhyme shares every sound from the last stressed vowel to the end; ordered by written frequency (wordfreq 3.1).
Forms of bait
- baits plural, present, singular, he/she/it
- b8
- baiting participle, present
- baited participle, past
- baiter comparative
- baitest superlative
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does bait mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
noun
- 1
Any substance, especially food, used in catching fish, or other animals, by alluring them to a hook, snare, trap, or net.
attach bait to a hook
- 2
Food containing poison or a harmful additive to kill animals that are pests.
- 3
Anything which allures; something or someone used to lure or entice someone or something into doing something.
- 4
Something that lures or entices a specified group.
queerbait
- 5
vulgarSomeone that attracts or entices a specified sex act being done to them.
somno bait
- 6
A portion of food or drink, as a refreshment taken on a journey; also, a stop for rest and refreshment.
- 7
A packed lunch - the bite to eat a worker took with them to eat.
- 8
A small meal taken mid-morning while farming.
verb
- 1
To attract with bait; to entice.
- 2
To affix bait to a trap or a fishing hook or fishing line.
- 3
To lay baits in an environment to control pest species.
- 4
To target a pest species by laying baits.
- 5
To set dogs on (an animal etc.) to bite or worry; to attack with dogs, especially for sport.
to bait a bear with dogs
- 6
To intentionally annoy, torment, or threaten by constant rebukes or threats; to harass.
- 7
archaicTo feed and water (a horse or other animal), especially during a journey.
- 8
Of a horse or other animal: to take food, especially during a journey.
- 9
(of a person) To stop to take a portion of food and drink for refreshment during a journey.
- 10
obsoleteTo flap the wings; to flutter as if to fly; or to hover, as a hawk when she stoops to her prey.
adjective
- 1
Obvious; blatant.
- 2
Well-known; famous; renowned.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Bait in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| French | appât , leurre , appâter |
| German | Köder , Lockmittel , ködern, anlocken , Giftköder |
| Portuguese | isca , engodo , iscar, engodar, cevar , farnel |
| Spanish | carnada, cebo, señuelo, carnaza, añagaza, ñagaza |
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.
Where does bait come from?
From Middle English bayte, bait, beite, from Old Norse beita (“food, bait”), from Proto-Germanic *baitō (“that which is bitten, bait”), from Proto-Indo-European *bʰeyd- (“to cleave, split, separate”). Cognate with German Beize (“mordant, corrosive fluid; marinade”), Old English bāt (“that which can be bitten, food, bait”).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).