a hidden bomb or mine so placed that it will be set off by an unsuspecting person through such means as moving an apparently harmless object.
any hidden trap set for an unsuspecting person.
a hidden explosive device primed in such a way as to be set off by an unsuspecting victim
a trap for an unsuspecting person, esp one intended as a practical joke, such as an object balanced above a door to fall on the person who opens it
First recorded in 1840–50
First recorded in 1940–45
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
The scene from 1981's Raiders of the Lost Ark shows Indiana Jones - played by Harrison Ford - outrunning a giant boulder triggered by a booby trap, before leaping to safety.
From BBC • Dec. 31, 2025
The soldiers passed a Russian military identification document, fluttering in the wind on the lawn of a house, but did not touch it to check the name, fearing a booby trap.
From Seattle Times • Mar. 29, 2022
And he must navigate a legislative jungle that his opponents are trying to booby trap with amendments that could wreck his path to Brexit.
From Reuters • Oct. 18, 2019
Sweep her car for booby trap and swaddle her in bubble wrap, She's staying alive, stayin' alive.
From Washington Post • Jan. 10, 2019
The grass cut my hands up so fast I thought I had walked into a booby trap.
From "Fallen Angels" by Walter Dean Myers
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
