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• booby trap
  booby trap

  noun

  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.
• booby-trap
  booby-trap

  verb (used with object)

  to set with or as if with a booby trap; attach a booby trap to or in.

booby trap

¹ American  

noun

1. 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.

2. any hidden trap set for an unsuspecting person.

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booby-trap ² American  

[boo-bee-trap] / ˈbu biˌtræp /

verb (used with object)

booby-trapped, booby-trapping

1. to set with or as if with a booby trap; attach a booby trap to or in.

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booby trap British  

noun

1. a hidden explosive device primed in such a way as to be set off by an unsuspecting victim

2. 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

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verb

1. (tr) to set a booby trap in or on (a building or object) or for (a person)

Etymology

Origin of booby trap¹

First recorded in 1840–50

Origin of booby-trap²

First recorded in 1940–45

Related Words

• land mine