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.
With a chilly austerity worthy of Stanley Kubrick or Michael Haneke, Glazer turns a static shot into a booby trap and a daily activity into an indictment.
From Los Angeles Times ● Dec. 14, 2023
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
As star pitchers go through their first few spring training games, we watch as if a bomb squad is defusing a booby trap.
From Washington Post ● Mar. 12, 2014
Possibly the cup of tea was Dudley’s idea of a clever booby trap.
From "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows" by J.K. Rowling
Mr. Pompeo’s other measures have a similar booby-trap quality.
From Washington Post ● Jan. 12, 2021
Levi had triggered a booby-trap planted in the wall.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 24, 2016
After police sealed off the area and ensured there was no booby-trap, the vehicle was towed away for forensic examination.
From BBC ● Nov. 17, 2015
The U.S. calls this the “the booby-trap bond” – a $3 billion issue due to Russian bond holders Dec. 2015.
From Forbes ● Dec. 12, 2014
Even if he has only a match and a can of Coca-Cola and a stick of mint gum, he can use them to booby-trap the bad guys and escape.
From "The Queen of Water" by Laura Resau
Brigadier General Iddo Mizrahi, chief of Israel's military engineers, said troops were in a first stage of opening access routes in Gaza but were encountering mines and booby-traps.
From Reuters ● Nov. 2, 2023
Frank falls into one of Bill's booby-traps after years of Bill living a safe — and totally solitary — life.
From Salon ● Jan. 30, 2023
Knowing how to spot booby-traps that could shatter their lives again is a necessary skill, she said.
From Seattle Times ● Apr. 29, 2022
“Carol of the Bells” is memorably used in Home Alone as Macaulay Culkin booby-traps his home.
From Slate ● Dec. 19, 2019
Or, one of those young scamps perhaps Who love to rig their bogus bogies, And set their artful booby-traps For over-unsuspicious fogies?
From Punch, or the London Charivari, Volume 102, January 9, 1892 by Various
But these nefarious prompts can also be hiding out on the internet as AI agents built into browsers encounter online data of dubious quality or origin, and potentially booby-trapped with hidden commands from hackers.
From Barron's ● Nov. 11, 2025
Standing ovations on Broadway are so common you might imagine the seats have been booby-trapped to eject patrons as the curtain calls begin.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 17, 2025
The Axios news website cited two sources as saying that Israeli intelligence services had booby-trapped thousands of walkie-talkies before delivering them to Hezbollah as part of the group’s war-time emergency communications system.
From BBC ● Sep. 18, 2024
In “Anatomy of a Fall,” even the rawest of emotional truths turn out to be booby-trapped, and the ever-thin boundaries between life and art are repeatedly violated.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 13, 2023
“Around this time, all kinds of booby-trapped trinkets were being scattered on our airfield,” said Vera Tikhomirova, the 586th Regiment’s deputy commander for political affairs.
From "A Thousand Sisters" by Elizabeth Wein
I say “may” because “No Bears,” ingeniously constructed so as to continually reveal new layers of suspense and surprise, delights in withholding information and booby-trapping our assumptions.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jan. 11, 2023
Like Macaulay Culkin in Home Alone, he spends the rest of the night booby-trapping his fortress.
From The Guardian ● Aug. 5, 2011
Often, by the time the nearest army unit hears about an attack, the Viet Cong have already fled, and they make pursuit more difficult by booby-trapping the jungle trails behind them.
From Time Magazine Archive
Contemplating all this, the cynical wondered if Earl wasn't booby-trapping himself.
From Time Magazine Archive
In English, that meant: To all units: Japanese are booby-trapping personnel equipment, installations, and bivouacs.
From "Code Talker: A Novel About the Navajo Marines of World War Two" by Joseph Bruchac
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.
