deathtrap

American  

[deth-trap] / ˈdɛθˌtræp /

noun

1. a structure, place, or situation where there is imminent risk of death.

   They escaped from the deathtrap just before it exploded.

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Etymology

Origin of deathtrap

First recorded in 1825–35; death + trap ¹

Example Sentences

The tunnel would turn the delta into “a deathtrap for salmon,” Nelson says, and the Sites Reservoir would degrade downstream waters, possibly increasing temperatures.

From Los Angeles Times

The blaze had swept through a government property at 80 Albert Street, a deathtrap of a building where squatters pilfered electricity, built indoor shacks out of cardboard and cooked on paraffin stoves.

From New York Times

The Fire Brigades Union said that barges housing asylum seekers were “a potential deathtrap,” describing the policy as “cruel and reckless.”

From New York Times

KYIV, Ukraine — When the power is out, as it so often is, the high-rise apartment overlooking Ukraine’s war-torn capital feels like a deathtrap.

From Washington Times

His 1965 book, “Unsafe at Any Speed,” painted the Corvair as a deathtrap, ushered in an era of consumer activism and led to the founding of the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.

From New York Times