race-bait

verb

To engage in race baiting.

OriginEnglish bait ← Middle English bayte ← Old Norse beita →
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Meanings

verbrace-bait (third-person singular simple present race-baits, present participle race-baiting, simple past and past participle race-baited)

present singular third person race-baits · participle present race-baiting · participle past race-baited · past race-baited

  1. To engage in race baiting.

Origin

  1. Proto-Indo-European*h₁reh₁s-
  2. Proto-Germanic*rēsō
  3. Proto-West Germanic*rās
  4. Old Englishrǣs
  5. Proto-Germanic*rēsō
  6. Old Norserás
  7. Middle Englishrace
  8. Englishrace
  9. Proto-Indo-European*bʰeyd-
  10. Proto-Indo-European*bʰéydt
  11. Proto-Germanic*bītaną
  12. Proto-Germanic*baitijaną
  13. Old Norsebeita
  14. Middle Englishbayte
  15. Englishbait
  16. Englishrace-bait

From race + -bait (manipulation to elicit a particular response).

Full word history & related roots →
Cite this entry
APA

race-bait. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 4, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/race-bait

MLA

“race-bait.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/race-bait. Accessed November 4, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “race-bait,” accessed November 4, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/race-bait.

Source: race-bait on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.