pitfall

[ pit-fawl ]

/ ˈpɪtˌfɔl /

SEE SYNONYMS FOR pitfall ON THESAURUS.COM

noun

a lightly covered and unnoticeable pit prepared as a trap for people or animals.

any trap or danger for the unwary: the pitfall of excessive pride.

Words nearby pitfall

pitchpot, pitchstone, pitchy, piteous, pitesti, pitfall, pith, pith helmet, pith ray, pithead, pithecanthrope

Origin of pitfall

1275–1325; Middle English pittefalle, equivalent to pitte pit¹ + falle (Old English fealle) trap

SYNONYMS FOR pitfall

1, 2 See trap¹.

SEE SYNONYMS FOR pitfall ON THESAURUS.COM

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for pitfall

The second pitfall is that Tendulkar has given the reader little of what should be a gripping, meaningful story of his life.
The Story of the World’s Greatest Cricket Player|William O’Connor|December 24, 2014|DAILY BEAST
It points up the major pitfall of academic boycotts, a pitfall so serious as to make them counterproductive.
Sydney’s ‘Blind To The Person’ BDS|Sigal Samuel|December 12, 2012|DAILY BEAST
The Israel Project's novel defense of building civilian settlements in E1, however, has many a pitfall.
A Bogus Defense Of E1 Construction|Ali Gharib|December 4, 2012|DAILY BEAST
One pitfall: text contributions are capped at $10 each per message and $200 a person under FEC regulations.
Will Text-Message Contributions Save Obama’s Reelection Effort?|Miranda Green|June 22, 2012|DAILY BEAST

Be on guard, especially, against co-dependence—a Libra pitfall.
The Stars Predict Your Week|Starsky + Cox|September 24, 2011|DAILY BEAST
Woman was disparaged and suspected; all thinkers, down to Thomas and Anselm, looking upon her merely as a snare and a pitfall.
The Evolution of Love|Emil Lucka
Suddenly, my horse swerved on one side, and I saw that he had narrowly escaped a pitfall.
Adventures in Africa|W.H.G. Kingston
For the wary wolf dreads the pitfall, and the hawk the suspected snares, and the kite the concealed hook.
The Works of Horace|Horace
The text faltered; it was terribly two-edged; but Carlton had not perceived the pitfall until he was over the brink.
Peccavi|E. W. Hornung
If there was any angle, he seemed somehow to knock against it; and if there was any pitfall, it was he who fell into it.
The Candidate|Joseph Alexander Altsheler

British Dictionary definitions for pitfall

pitfall

/ (ˈpɪtˌfɔːl) /

noun

an unsuspected difficulty or danger

a trap in the form of a concealed pit, designed to catch men or wild animals

Word Origin for pitfall

Old English pytt pit 1 + fealle trap

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

pitfall

noun

Content related to pitfall

Words related to pitfall

Words nearby pitfall

Origin of pitfall

SYNONYMS FOR pitfall

Examples from the Web for pitfall

British Dictionary definitions for pitfall

noun

Word Origin for pitfall