clickbait
noun
click·bait
ˈklik-ˌbāt 
: something (such as a headline) designed to make readers want to click on a hyperlink especially when the link leads to content of dubious value or interest
It is difficult to remember a time when you could scroll through the social media outlet of your choice and not be bombarded with: You'll never believe what happened when … This is the cutest thing ever … This the biggest mistake you can make … Take this quiz to see which character you are on … They are all classic clickbait models.—
Emily Shire
Emily ShireExamples of clickbait in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
Nineteenth-Century Clickbait Online publications that offer clickbait and easy entertainment mirror some of the most popular nineteenth century British magazines.
—JSTOR Daily, 24 June 2024
An apt endeavor, the film turns the climate crisis from clickbait headline fodder to a crucial story of universal concern, kindling for a larger conversation about the maelstrom that will inevitably continue to affect a large swath of the population.
—Holly Jones, Variety, 13 June 2024
The allegations were obviously made up by you and/or your client to achieve maximum tabloid clickbait value in the hopes of weaponizing these false allegations — along with other lies that permeate the complaint — as leverage to force an unjustified settlement.
—Karu F. Daniels, New York Daily News, 7 Mar. 2024
The headline, Hollywood’s Brat Pack—a sideways reference to the clique of urbane rebel entertainers, including Frank Sinatra and Sammy Davis Jr., who cool-strutted through Hollywood and Las Vegas in the 1960s—had the catchy élan that editors have always strived for, even before the clickbait era.
—Stephanie Zacharek, TIME, 13 June 2024
See all Example Sentences for clickbait 
JSTOR Daily, 24 June 2024
An apt endeavor, the film turns the climate crisis from clickbait headline fodder to a crucial story of universal concern, kindling for a larger conversation about the maelstrom that will inevitably continue to affect a large swath of the population.
—Holly Jones, Variety, 13 June 2024
The allegations were obviously made up by you and/or your client to achieve maximum tabloid clickbait value in the hopes of weaponizing these false allegations — along with other lies that permeate the complaint — as leverage to force an unjustified settlement.
—Karu F. Daniels, New York Daily News, 7 Mar. 2024
The headline, Hollywood’s Brat Pack—a sideways reference to the clique of urbane rebel entertainers, including Frank Sinatra and Sammy Davis Jr., who cool-strutted through Hollywood and Las Vegas in the 1960s—had the catchy élan that editors have always strived for, even before the clickbait era.
—Stephanie Zacharek, TIME, 13 June 2024
See all Example Sentences for clickbait
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'clickbait.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
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Cite this Entry
“Clickbait.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/clickbait. Accessed 2 Jul. 2024.
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