baitfish: Meaning and Definition of

bait•fish

Pronunciation: (bāt'fish"), [key]
— pl. -fish, -fish•es.
  1. a small fish that is a source of food for a larger fish: Fishermen knew the presence of baitfish meant plenty of bass nearby.
  2. any small fish, as a minnow or shiner, used as bait.
Random House Unabridged Dictionary, Copyright © 1997, by Random House, Inc., on Infoplease.