Clickbait is a headline, image or thumbnail designed to get you to click on a link. The word is disapproving: people use it when a headline is clearly aimed at getting clicks rather than at the reader. In terms of style it's neutral and journalists use it too, so it works in conversation, in IELTS Speaking and in an essay about the media.
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it's (just/pure) clickbait; a clickbait + headline/title/thumbnail; fall for clickbait
- 'You won't believe what happened next' is pure clickbait, don't click it.
- The headline promised a celebrity scandal, but the article was just clickbait.
- I'm so tired of clickbait thumbnails with shocked faces and red arrows.
What changed
First versionDon't open that article, it's a clickbait.
RevisionDon't open that article, it's clickbait.
Clickbait is an uncountable noun, like news or information, so it doesn't take a: it's clickbait. The article appears when the word describes another noun: a clickbait headline.
Clickbait and hype are similar but different things. Clickbait is the bait in a specific headline or thumbnail, while hype is the buzz around a whole product or event: The hype around the film was huge, and every article about it had a clickbait title.
Your turn
The title said 'This app will change your life!', but the video was just a boring advert for a calendar app. Total ___.
Show the answer
clickbait — The title promised a life-changing app, but the video was a boring advert, so the title was just bait for clicks: clickbait. A spoiler reveals the plot or the ending in advance, and here nothing was revealed; if anything, viewers were misled.
Come up with a clickbait headline for a video about your ordinary day and explain why it's clickbait.
'I lost everything in one day!' would be pure clickbait for my vlog about a normal Tuesday, because I only lost my umbrella.
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