sharebait

S1H4A1R1E1B3A1I1T1
US/ˈʃɛɹ.beɪt/

noun

Website content that exists only to be shared, aimed at generating advertising revenue, especially at the expense of quality or accuracy, relying on sensationalist headlines to attract click-throughs.

Scrabble 14

Meanings

nounsharebait (uncountable)

alternative share-bait · alternative share bait

  1. InternetderogatoryinformaluncountableWebsite content that exists only to be shared, aimed at generating advertising revenue, especially at the expense of quality or accuracy, relying on sensationalist headlines to attract click-throughs.

    Forget click-bait. We’re living in the world of share-bait now.

    2014, Caitlin Dewey, The Washington Post
    1 more example

    Among the many phenomena we’d tentatively attribute, in large part, to the trend: the rise of sharebait (nee clickbait) and the general BuzzFeedification of traditional media; the Internet hoax-industrial complex, which only seems to be growing stronger; and the utter lack of intelligent online discourse around any remotely complicated, controversial topic.

    2016, Caitlin Dewey, The Washington Post

Origin

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

Full word history & related roots →
Cite this entry
APA

sharebait. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/sharebait

MLA

“sharebait.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/sharebait. Accessed November 3, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “sharebait,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/sharebait.

Source: sharebait on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.