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-trapping
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present participleof booby-trap.present participle
A verb form that is used in progressive verb constructions and may also function as a modifier or a gerund.
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
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
Isaura’s true love tries to defend her, but without knowledge of booby-trapping, he fails, and Leoncio drags her back to his mansion.
From "The Queen of Water" by Laura Resau
