tip bait

noun

The promise of a large tip (usually on a delivery app) so that the deliverer feels incentivised to swiftly reach their destination, only to deliberately decrease or cancel the tip once the delivery is completed.

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Meanings

nountip bait (plural tip baits)

plural tip baits · alternative tip-bait

  1. InternetThe promise of a large tip (usually on a delivery app) so that the deliverer feels incentivised to swiftly reach their destination, only to deliberately decrease or cancel the tip once the delivery is completed.
verbtip bait (third-person singular simple present tip baits, present participle tip baiting, simple past and past participle tip baited)

present singular third person tip baits · participle present tip baiting · participle past tip baited · past tip baited · alternative tip-bait

  1. InternetTo make such a falsely promised tip; to engage in tip baiting.

Origin

Back-formation from tip baiting. Popularised in the 2020s with the rise of food delivery services during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Full word history & related roots →
Cite this entry
APA

tip bait. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/tip%20bait

MLA

“tip bait.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/tip%20bait. Accessed November 3, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “tip bait,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/tip%20bait.

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