From Longman Dictionary of Contemporary Englishrise to something phrasal verbif you rise to a remark, you reply to it rather than ignoring it, especially because it has made you angry You shouldn’t rise to his comments. He refused to rise to the bait (=react in the way someone wanted him to). → rise→ See Verb table
Examples from the Corpus
rise to • She refused to rise to his sexist remarks.rise to the bait• But she clamped her lips together and didn't rise to the bait.• But she never rose to the bait.• Do you rise to the bait?• I felt I was arguing on behalf of myself and the other two, who never rose to the bait.• She could rage till she fell down in a fit, but he wouldn't rise to the bait.• She was concentrating too intently to rise to the bait.• They rose to the bait and decided they needed to prove a point, putting together their nine-piece Bootsy Collins-featuring live band.• He was a real showman, and however he was feeling, he always rose to the bait of a captive audience! 