"take the bait" meaning in English

{
  "etymology_text": "An allusion to a fish swallowing a baited hook.",
  "forms": [
    {
      "form": "takes the bait",
      "tags": [
        "present",
        "singular",
        "third-person"
      ]
    },
    {
      "form": "taking the bait",
      "tags": [
        "participle",
        "present"
      ]
    },
    {
      "form": "took the bait",
      "tags": [
        "past"
      ]
    },
    {
      "form": "taken the bait",
      "tags": [
        "participle",
        "past"
      ]
    }
  ],
  "head_templates": [
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "take<,,took,taken> the bait"
      },
      "expansion": "take the bait (third-person singular simple present takes the bait, present participle taking the bait, simple past took the bait, past participle taken the bait)",
      "name": "en-verb"
    }
  ],
  "lang": "English",
  "lang_code": "en",
  "pos": "verb",
  "senses": [
    {
      "categories": [
        {
          "_dis": "47 53",
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "English predicates",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w+disamb"
        }
      ],
      "glosses": [
        "To nibble at bait on a hook."
      ],
      "id": "en-take_the_bait-en-verb-2DYniZuN",
      "links": [
        [
          "fish",
          "fish"
        ],
        [
          "hook",
          "hook"
        ]
      ],
      "raw_glosses": [
        "(of a fish) To nibble at bait on a hook."
      ],
      "raw_tags": [
        "of a fish"
      ],
      "related": [
        {
          "_dis1": "94 6",
          "word": "hook, line and sinker"
        }
      ],
      "translations": [
        {
          "_dis1": "98 2",
          "code": "fi",
          "lang": "Finnish",
          "sense": "to nibble at bait on a hook",
          "word": "syödä"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "98 2",
          "code": "fi",
          "lang": "Finnish",
          "sense": "to nibble at bait on a hook",
          "word": "napata"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "98 2",
          "code": "pl",
          "lang": "Polish",
          "sense": "to nibble at bait on a hook",
          "tags": [
            "imperfective"
          ],
          "word": "połykać przynętę"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "98 2",
          "code": "pl",
          "lang": "Polish",
          "sense": "to nibble at bait on a hook",
          "tags": [
            "perfective"
          ],
          "word": "połknąć przynętę"
        }
      ]
    },
    {
      "categories": [
        {
          "_dis": "35 65",
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "English entries with incorrect language header",
          "parents": [
            "Entries with incorrect language header",
            "Entry maintenance"
          ],
          "source": "w+disamb"
        },
        {
          "_dis": "43 57",
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "English entries with language name categories using raw markup",
          "parents": [
            "Entries with language name categories using raw markup",
            "Entry maintenance"
          ],
          "source": "w+disamb"
        },
        {
          "_dis": "29 71",
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "English light verb constructions",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w+disamb"
        },
        {
          "_dis": "47 53",
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "English predicates",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w+disamb"
        },
        {
          "_dis": "32 68",
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "English terms with non-redundant non-automated sortkeys",
          "parents": [
            "Terms with non-redundant non-automated sortkeys",
            "Entry maintenance"
          ],
          "source": "w+disamb"
        }
      ],
      "examples": [
        {
          "ref": "1997 August 30, John Kifner, “Thousands Call on City Hall To Confront Police Brutality”, in New York Times, retrieved 2015-05-08",
          "text": "\"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.\"",
          "type": "quotation"
        },
        {
          "ref": "2011 June 2, Nick Duerden, “Dave Gorman: Games for a laugh”, in The Independent, UK, retrieved 2015-05-08",
          "text": "\"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.\"",
          "type": "quotation"
        },
        {
          "ref": "2011 December 9, Craig Whitlock, “Gen. Martin Dempsey knows how to sing a tune”, in Washington Post, retrieved 2015-05-08",
          "text": "[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.",
          "type": "quotation"
        },
        {
          "ref": "2023 March 15, Kevin Roose, “GPT-4 Is Exciting and Scary”, in The New York Times",
          "text": "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.",
          "type": "quotation"
        }
      ],
      "glosses": [
        "To be lured by an offer, flattery, or a provocation into doing something, especially something disadvantageous or dubious."
      ],
      "id": "en-take_the_bait-en-verb-71O8MhGB",
      "links": [
        [
          "lure",
          "lure"
        ],
        [
          "offer",
          "offer"
        ],
        [
          "flattery",
          "flattery"
        ],
        [
          "provocation",
          "provocation"
        ],
        [
          "disadvantageous",
          "disadvantageous"
        ],
        [
          "dubious",
          "dubious"
        ]
      ],
      "raw_glosses": [
        "(figuratively) To be lured by an offer, flattery, or a provocation into doing something, especially something disadvantageous or dubious."
      ],
      "synonyms": [
        {
          "word": "bite"
        },
        {
          "word": "rise to the bait"
        }
      ],
      "tags": [
        "figuratively"
      ],
      "translations": [
        {
          "_dis1": "4 96",
          "code": "fr",
          "lang": "French",
          "sense": "to be lured",
          "word": "mordre à l’hameçon"
        }
      ]
    }
  ],
  "sounds": [
    {
      "audio": "En-au-take the bait.ogg",
      "mp3_url": "https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/transcoded/1/13/En-au-take_the_bait.ogg/En-au-take_the_bait.ogg.mp3",
      "ogg_url": "https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/1/13/En-au-take_the_bait.ogg",
      "tags": [
        "Australia"
      ],
      "text": "Audio (AU)"
    }
  ],
  "word": "take the bait"
}

{
  "categories": [
    "English entries with incorrect language header",
    "English entries with language name categories using raw markup",
    "English lemmas",
    "English light verb constructions",
    "English multiword terms",
    "English predicates",
    "English terms with audio links",
    "English terms with non-redundant non-automated sortkeys",
    "English verbs",
    "Requests for review of German translations",
    "Requests for review of Italian translations",
    "Requests for review of Maori translations",
    "Requests for review of Norwegian translations",
    "Requests for review of Spanish translations",
    "Requests for review of Swedish translations",
    "Requests for review of Tagalog translations"
  ],
  "etymology_text": "An allusion to a fish swallowing a baited hook.",
  "forms": [
    {
      "form": "takes the bait",
      "tags": [
        "present",
        "singular",
        "third-person"
      ]
    },
    {
      "form": "taking the bait",
      "tags": [
        "participle",
        "present"
      ]
    },
    {
      "form": "took the bait",
      "tags": [
        "past"
      ]
    },
    {
      "form": "taken the bait",
      "tags": [
        "participle",
        "past"
      ]
    }
  ],
  "head_templates": [
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "take<,,took,taken> the bait"
      },
      "expansion": "take the bait (third-person singular simple present takes the bait, present participle taking the bait, simple past took the bait, past participle taken the bait)",
      "name": "en-verb"
    }
  ],
  "lang": "English",
  "lang_code": "en",
  "pos": "verb",
  "related": [
    {
      "word": "hook, line and sinker"
    }
  ],
  "senses": [
    {
      "glosses": [
        "To nibble at bait on a hook."
      ],
      "links": [
        [
          "fish",
          "fish"
        ],
        [
          "hook",
          "hook"
        ]
      ],
      "raw_glosses": [
        "(of a fish) To nibble at bait on a hook."
      ],
      "raw_tags": [
        "of a fish"
      ]
    },
    {
      "categories": [
        "English terms with quotations"
      ],
      "examples": [
        {
          "ref": "1997 August 30, John Kifner, “Thousands Call on City Hall To Confront Police Brutality”, in New York Times, retrieved 2015-05-08",
          "text": "\"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.\"",
          "type": "quotation"
        },
        {
          "ref": "2011 June 2, Nick Duerden, “Dave Gorman: Games for a laugh”, in The Independent, UK, retrieved 2015-05-08",
          "text": "\"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.\"",
          "type": "quotation"
        },
        {
          "ref": "2011 December 9, Craig Whitlock, “Gen. Martin Dempsey knows how to sing a tune”, in Washington Post, retrieved 2015-05-08",
          "text": "[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.",
          "type": "quotation"
        },
        {
          "ref": "2023 March 15, Kevin Roose, “GPT-4 Is Exciting and Scary”, in The New York Times",
          "text": "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.",
          "type": "quotation"
        }
      ],
      "glosses": [
        "To be lured by an offer, flattery, or a provocation into doing something, especially something disadvantageous or dubious."
      ],
      "links": [
        [
          "lure",
          "lure"
        ],
        [
          "offer",
          "offer"
        ],
        [
          "flattery",
          "flattery"
        ],
        [
          "provocation",
          "provocation"
        ],
        [
          "disadvantageous",
          "disadvantageous"
        ],
        [
          "dubious",
          "dubious"
        ]
      ],
      "raw_glosses": [
        "(figuratively) To be lured by an offer, flattery, or a provocation into doing something, especially something disadvantageous or dubious."
      ],
      "synonyms": [
        {
          "word": "bite"
        },
        {
          "word": "rise to the bait"
        }
      ],
      "tags": [
        "figuratively"
      ]
    }
  ],
  "sounds": [
    {
      "audio": "En-au-take the bait.ogg",
      "mp3_url": "https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/transcoded/1/13/En-au-take_the_bait.ogg/En-au-take_the_bait.ogg.mp3",
      "ogg_url": "https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/1/13/En-au-take_the_bait.ogg",
      "tags": [
        "Australia"
      ],
      "text": "Audio (AU)"
    }
  ],
  "translations": [
    {
      "code": "fi",
      "lang": "Finnish",
      "sense": "to nibble at bait on a hook",
      "word": "syödä"
    },
    {
      "code": "fi",
      "lang": "Finnish",
      "sense": "to nibble at bait on a hook",
      "word": "napata"
    },
    {
      "code": "pl",
      "lang": "Polish",
      "sense": "to nibble at bait on a hook",
      "tags": [
        "imperfective"
      ],
      "word": "połykać przynętę"
    },
    {
      "code": "pl",
      "lang": "Polish",
      "sense": "to nibble at bait on a hook",
      "tags": [
        "perfective"
      ],
      "word": "połknąć przynętę"
    },
    {
      "code": "fr",
      "lang": "French",
      "sense": "to be lured",
      "word": "mordre à l’hameçon"
    }
  ],
  "word": "take the bait"
}