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

Examples of clickbait in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

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The key to lasting efficiency in government space acquisitions is not a clickbait headline of program cuts, though those can be helpful and in many instances are long overdue. —

Charles Beames, Forbes, 18 Dec. 2024 People just grabbed some clickbait stuff to be divisive. —

Christina Dugan Ramirez, Fox News, 16 Nov. 2024 Lauren Goode: Were people just copying and pasting it as like clickbait and not attributing it? —

Lauren Goode, WIRED, 21 Nov. 2024 However, this irresistible clickbait was backed up by much more than a headline, and there are some very tangible takeaways. —

Jason Andersen, Forbes, 1 Oct. 2024 See all Example Sentences for clickbait