Bated means you feel so anxious or excited that you almost stop breathing. In real life the word lives inside one set phrase: with bated breath. If you wait with bated breath, you are holding your breath a little, listening hard, hoping or fearing what comes next — exam results, a winner’s name, a door opening. You almost never see bated on its own. It is a slightly old-fashioned, slightly literary phrase, but people still use it when the wait feels big. Though actually, the feeling is not always fear; it can be bright excitement too.