redbait en · NOUN
Etymology
From red + bait.
Meanings
- A fish, Emmelichthys nitidus
- Pyura stolonifera, an ascidian often used as bait by anglers.
Forms
| Spelling | Features | Labels | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| redbait | Number=Plur | lexicographic |
Dictionary
Words, grammatical forms and meanings linked to the ontology.
redbait en · VERB
Etymology
From red + bait.
Meanings
-
(US, transitive) To attack by denouncing as a Communist.
While Jack Kennedy thrived in the 1950s as a sex-crazed, drug-dependent, ailment-ridden party-boy politician, Bobby, the family’s complicated sourpuss, hooked up with the redbaiting Joe McCarthy, then spun off as a crusading and corners-cutting scourge of labor corruption.
2007 September 9, David Corn, “Collision Course”, in New York Times:
Forms
| Spelling | Features | Labels | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| red-bait | alternative | lexicographic | |
| redbaits | Number=Sing, Person=3, Tense=Pres | lexicographic | |
| redbaiting | Tense=Pres, VerbForm=Part | lexicographic | |
| redbaited | Tense=Past, VerbForm=Part | lexicographic | |
| redbaited | Tense=Past | lexicographic |