entrapment
Americannoun
-
Law. the luring by a law-enforcement agent of a person into committing a crime.
Defense lawyers in cases involving sting operations often accuse the F.B.I. of entrapment.
-
an act or process of entrapping.
Depth filters consist of pressed fibers, which use entrapment to remove suspended particles and prevent clogging.
-
a state of being entrapped.
nerve entrapment;
sea turtle entrapment.
noun
Etymology
Origin of entrapment
Explanation
Entrapment is a legal term that describes what happens when someone is tricked into committing a crime. Police officers have to be careful not to use techniques that might be seen as entrapment. A defense attorney might try to prove that her client was a victim of entrapment in order to get charges dropped or to influence a jury to find the defendant not guilty. Legally, entrapment is considered unfair because it influences someone (who otherwise wouldn't) to break the law. The word's been around since the 16th century, meaning "being caught in a trap," but the legal definition arose toward the end of the 19th century.
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.
Reenacting Hind’s entrapment took a toll on the cast.
From Los Angeles Times • Feb. 17, 2026
In 1999, Judge Stephen Robbins told Alford that although entrapment had played a significant part in the sting, he "willingly went along with the idea".
From BBC • Jan. 15, 2026
And some of them were entrapment, I would say.
From Salon • Aug. 21, 2024
An extreme yet common consequence of this financial entrapment is hysterectomies.
From New York Times • Mar. 24, 2024
The entrapment occurs in three distinct phases, each of which has been explored earlier, but a brief review is useful here.
From "The New Jim Crow" by Michelle Alexander
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.
