Sekirov Dictionary

bait and switch

noun 2
verb 2
bait-and-switch adjective 1
forms 6

noun2

•
An unscrupulous and sometimes illegal sales technique, in which an inexpensive product is advertised to attract prospective customers who are then told by sales personnel that the inexpensive product is unavailable or of poor quality and are instead urged to buy a more expensive product.
- A teasing bait and switch, whereby creators promise more explicit content than they deliver, is a well-known feature of the industry. — 2026
•
Any similar deceptive behavior, especially in politics and romantic relationships.
- Jon: Hey, Garfield, let's get a pizza! […] Jon:On the way we'll stop at the vet. Garfield: It's the old bait and switch! — 1986

verb2

•
To lure someone with an offer of some kind, but substitute something of greater advantage to the offerer.
- Not when you are baiting and switching down from a stately antebellum manse to a tenement crack house. — 2008
To exploit using bait and switch.

bait-and-switch adjective1

•
Relating to use of bait and switch (offering one attractive exchange initially, but not honoring the offer) in business, politics, and elsewhere.
- Despite Healy's argument that the Liberty Fund would go to worthwhile causes, many felt the Red Cross had deliberately misled donors by using September 11th in a bait-and-switch ploy. — 2001

forms

bait-and-switched · baited and switched · bait-and-switching · baiting and switching · bait-and-switches · baits and switches

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