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food, or some substitute, used as a lure in fishing, trapping, etc.
a poisoned lure used in exterminating pests.
an allurement; enticement:
Employees were lured with the bait of annual bonuses.
an object for pulling molten or liquefied material, as glass, from a vat or the like by adhesion.
South Midland and Southern U.S.

a large or sufficient quantity or amount:
He fetched a good bait of wood.
an excessive quantity or amount.

British Slang. food.
to prepare (a hook or trap) with bait.
to entice by deception or trickery so as to entrap or destroy:
using fake signal lights to bait the ships onto the rocks.
to attract, tempt, or captivate.
to set dogs upon (an animal) for sport.
to worry, torment, or persecute, especially with malicious remarks:
a nasty habit of baiting defenseless subordinates.
to tease:
They love to bait him about his gaudy ties.
to feed and water (a horse or other animal), especially during a journey.
to stop for food or refreshment during a journey.
(of a horse or other animal) to take food; feed.
Contemporary Examples

When you saw it out in Ferguson, there was a baiting going on.
Ava DuVernay on ‘Selma,’ the Racist Sony Emails, and Making Golden Globes History Marlow Stern December 14, 2014

Open-carry activists are known for baiting cops into on-camera arguments about the Second Amendment and state laws.
Texas Gun Slingers Police the Police—With a Black Panthers Tactic Brandy Zadrozny January 1, 2015

Desperate to stand out, some megachurches are baiting Easter crowds with flat-screen TVs, iPads, and Starbucks gift cards.
Can’t Fill the House On Easter? Try Handing Out Gadgets Matthew Paul Turner April 19, 2014

Historical Examples

This sort of baiting, good-natured though it was, was more than she could bear.
The Odds Ethel M. Dell

Let us see what sort of sport the bull-pups make in the baiting of him!
Micah Clarke Arthur Conan Doyle

After baiting we continued down the slough about six miles to some passable springs, and to where there is better grass.
Journal of a Trip to California by the Overland Route Across the Plains in 1850-51 E. S. (Eleazer Stillman) Ingalls

She was baiting him, tempting him to quarrel with her over the old grudge.
Rim o’ the World B. M. Bower

Hence the origin of the Yorkshire saying, “It is better to be at the baiting of a bear than the singing of a mass.”
England in the Days of Old William Andrews

Some of the numerous disaffected were baiting the stages most of the time.
Nan of Music Mountain Frank H. Spearman

“baiting the Bear,” a popular and still played game, has continued since the days of bear-baiting.
The Traditional Games of England, Scotland, and Ireland (Vol II of II) Alice Bertha Gomme

noun
something edible, such as soft bread paste, worms, or pieces of meat, fixed to a hook or in a trap to attract fish or animals
an enticement; temptation
a variant spelling of bate4
(Northern English, dialect) food, esp a packed lunch
(archaic) a short stop for refreshment during a journey
verb
(transitive) to put a piece of food on or in (a hook or trap)
(transitive) to persecute or tease
(transitive) to entice; tempt
(transitive) to set dogs upon (a bear, etc)
(transitive) (archaic) to feed (a horse), esp during a break in a journey
(intransitive) (archaic) to stop for rest and refreshment during a journey
verb
a variant spelling of bate2
n.

“food put on a hook or trap to lure prey,” c.1300, from Old Norse beita “food,” related to Old Norse beit “pasture,” Old English bat “food,” literally “to cause to bite” (see bait (v.)). Figurative sense “anything used as a lure” is from c.1400.
v.

“to torment or goad (someone unable to escape, and to take pleasure in it),” c.1300, beyten, a figurative use from the literal sense of “to set dogs on,” from the medieval entertainment of setting dogs on some ferocious animal to bite and worry it (the literal use is attested from c.1300); from Old Norse beita “to cause to bite,” from Proto-Germanic *baitan (cf. Old English bætan “to cause to bite,” Old High German beizzen “to bait,” Middle High German beiz “hunting,” German beizen “to hawk, to cauterize, etch”), causative of *bitan (see bite (v.)); the causative word forked into the two meanings of “harass” and “food offered.” Related: Baited; baiting.

“to put food on a hook or in a trap,” c.1300, probably from bait (n.). Related: Baited; baiting.
In addition to the idiom beginning with
bait