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deadfall

American  
[ded-fawl] / ˈdɛdˌfɔl /

noun

  1. a trap, especially for large game, in which a weight falls on and crushes the prey.

  2. a mass of brush and fallen trees.

deadfall British  
/ ˈdɛdˌfɔːl /

noun

  1. Also called: downfall.  a type of trap, used esp for catching large animals, in which a heavy weight falls to crush the prey

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Etymology

Origin of deadfall

First recorded in 1605–15; dead + fall

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.

The device’s clever design and battery-powered fans also allow it to emit less smoke than your standard fire pit, regardless of whether you’re burning charcoal or deadfall.

From The Verge • Nov. 8, 2021

That means using handsaws to clear deadfall from trails, block-and-tackle pulley rigs to lift bridge timbers and spud bars to pry rocks out of trail treads.

From Washington Times • Aug. 19, 2017

Looking up from the sidewalk, I was always conscious of this stark deadfall.

From The New Yorker • Dec. 29, 2014

The Woodland Trust said deadfall washed out by rivers from Urquhart Bay Wood could explain a recent report of something emerging from the loch.

From BBC • Nov. 20, 2014

A slow little stream meandered through the wood, and there was one spot where it had eaten the ground away beneath a deadfall.

From "A Clash of Kings" by George R.R. Martin

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.