"Baited" = having bait, set with a lure or trap; "bated" = restrained or reduced (only appears in the fixed phrase "bated breath").
Past participle of "bait" (to put bait on, to lure). "A baited hook" = a hook with bait. "A baited trap" = a trap set with bait. "She baited him into an argument" = she lured him into arguing. "Baited breath" = a very common error: does not exist in the sense of anxious anticipation.
He baited the trap with cheese and placed it near the hole where the mouse had been seen.
The journalist baited the official into revealing more than she had intended with a series of pointed questions.
Online trolls often post provocative content specifically to bait people into emotional reactions.
Archaic adjective derived from the verb "bate" (to restrain, reduce, moderate). Today it survives only in the fixed phrase "with bated breath" = holding one's breath in anticipation or suspense. "We waited with bated breath" = we waited holding our breath (in great anticipation). Do NOT write "baited breath" — it is always "bated breath".
The entire country waited with bated breath as the election results came in through the night.
She held the envelope with bated breath before finally tearing it open to reveal whether she had been accepted.
The audience sat with bated breath through the final minutes of the match, knowing either team could win.
Common mistake
The near-universal error: writing "baited breath" instead of "bated breath". It is one of the most common spelling errors in English. The reason: "bated" is an archaic word that appears in virtually no other context — most modern speakers do not know it and unconsciously substitute the familiar "baited" (having bait). But "baited breath" would mean breath that has bait on it, which is absurd. Only "BATED breath" exists — the RESTRAINED, REDUCED breath of pure anticipation.
Trick to remember it
BATED BREATH = your breath is BATED (reduced, held back). Think of "abate" (to reduce or lessen) — "bate" is the same concept. When you wait in intense anticipation, you literally hold your breath — that is "bated breath". Nothing to do with fishing bait. Memory trick: BATED = the breath is held BACK. If you wrote "baited", you would be saying you are using your breath to LURE someone, which makes no sense for the phrase. Only ever: BATED BREATH (no I).
Quick rule
Baited = having bait, lured (from the verb "bait"). Bated = only appears in "bated breath" (restrained, held back). Never "baited breath".
Did you know?
The phrase "with bated breath" was popularized by Shakespeare in "The Merchant of Venice" (1596): "Shall I bend low and in a bondman's key, / With bated breath and whisp'ring humbleness / Say this..." It is one of many Shakespearean archaisms that survive today as fixed phrases. "Bate" comes from Old French "battre" (to beat, restrain). The phrase is over 400 years old and still in common use — but almost always misspelled.
Exercise 1 · Pick the right one
The children waited with _____ breath as their mother slowly opened the box to reveal what was inside.
Exercise 2 · Pick the right one
The trap had been _____ with fresh salmon to attract the bear that had been raiding the campsite.
Exercise 3 · Form the word
Baited = having bait, lured (from the verb "bait"). Bated = only appears in "bated breath" (restrained, held back). Never "baited breath".
The near-universal error: writing "baited breath" instead of "bated breath". It is one of the most common spelling errors in English. The reason: "bated" is an archaic word that appears in virtually no other context — most modern speakers do not know it and unconsciously substitute the familiar "baited" (having bait). But "baited breath" would mean breath that has bait on it, which is absurd. Only "BATED breath" exists — the RESTRAINED, REDUCED breath of pure anticipation.
BATED BREATH = your breath is BATED (reduced, held back). Think of "abate" (to reduce or lessen) — "bate" is the same concept. When you wait in intense anticipation, you literally hold your breath — that is "bated breath". Nothing to do with fishing bait. Memory trick: BATED = the breath is held BACK. If you wrote "baited", you would be saying you are using your breath to LURE someone, which makes no sense for the phrase. Only ever: BATED BREATH (no I).
Bryan López
Founder of SpeakUP Academy