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

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 • Nov. 21, 2022

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 • Aug. 26, 2021

Khalid recalls that his father said: “If you go into a war, it will be a deathtrap and a stalemate.”

From Washington Post • May 28, 2020

While it has been planned for quite some time, I can’t shake the feeling that we might all be walking into a deathtrap.

From Slate • Aug. 27, 2019

“Only a certified idiot would set foot in there. Place is witched, and a deathtrap to boot.”

From "Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children" by Ransom Riggs