[bait] vb [ME, fr. ON beita; akin to OE baetan to bait, bitan to bite] vt (13c) 1 a: to persecute or exasperate with unjust, malicious, or persistent attacks b: tease
2. a: to harass (as a chained animal) with dogs usu. for sport b: to attack by biting and tearing 3 a: to furnish with bait b: entice, lure
4: to give food and drink to (an animal) esp. on the road ~ vi, archaic: to stop for food and rest when traveling -- bait.er n syn bait, badger, heckle, hector, chivy, hound mean to harass by efforts to break down. bait implies wanton cruelty or delight in persecuting a helpless victim "baited the chained dog". badger implies pestering so as to drive a person to confusion or frenzy "badgered her father for a raise in her allowance". heckle implies persistent annoying or belligerent interruptions of a speaker "drunks heckled the stand-up comic". hector carries an implication of bullying and domineering "football players hectored by their coach". chivy suggests persecution by teasing or nagging "chivied the new student mercilessly". hound implies unrelenting pursuit and harassing "hounded by creditors".
[2]bait n [ME, fr. ON beit pasturage & beita food; akin to OE bitan to bite] (14c) 1 a: something used in luring esp. to a hook or trap b: a poisonous material placed where it will be eaten by usu. wild animals considered undesirable or deleterious
2: lure, temptation