pitfall

American  

[pit-fawl] / ˈpɪtˌfɔl /

noun

• pitfalls
  plural

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

2. any trap or danger for the unwary.

   the pitfall of excessive pride.

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pitfall British  

/ ˈpɪtˌfɔːl /

noun

1. an unsuspected difficulty or danger

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

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Synonym Usage

See trap ¹.

Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

• pitfalls
  plural

Etymology

Origin of pitfall

First recorded in 1275–1325; Middle English pittefalle, equivalent to pitte pit ¹ + falle ( Old English fealle ) “trap”

Explanation

A pitfall is a trap or difficulty you didn't see. A possible pitfall for high school seniors is not working hard after they know they've already been accepted into college. In 1300, pitfall referred to an animal trap, such as branches laid across a deep hole offering no escape. Since the 1580s, pitfall has come to describe any hidden or unexpected difficulty, and its meaning has expanded to apply to humans. You might encounter a pitfall when trying to use a brand new computer program that's unexpectedly precise. It can even be a habit you don't want to address, like the pitfalls of snacking in front of the television every night.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

pitfall pitfalls

“I think that’s the most common pitfall we see. You can get overlaps in exposures, or gaps in exposures, that you don’t realize that you have.”

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 7, 2026

Another potential pitfall is a dispute over the construction of a flight of steps and a square as the main entrance to the facade of Glory, which would entail destroying blocks of adjacent homes.

From Barron's ● Feb. 20, 2026

Another, hopefully easier, pitfall to avoid: It’s hard to live in a home for any length of time without growing emotionally attached to it.

From MarketWatch ● Jan. 12, 2026

So, as they embarked on a third-straight postseason that began with an awkward first-round bye week, players brainstormed ways to avoid that pitfall again.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 13, 2024

Normally, this heinous breach of decorum was the pitfall of young lieutenants’ wives.

From "The Great Santini" by Pat Conroy

Cost and competition are two of the industry’s biggest hurdles, but developers say they can avoid the pitfalls of big projects with smaller, safer designs that can be built quickly.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 18, 2026

Here are four major financial pitfalls to be aware of.

From MarketWatch ● Jul. 29, 2026

There are pitfalls to aligning too closely however, as Reading and Charlton Athletic have previously discovered.

From BBC ● Jul. 24, 2026

"Appointments made against a backdrop of social turmoil always come with many pitfalls," said Prytula, adding that Drapaty now faces "inflated expectations".

From Barron's ● Jul. 22, 2026

Ian Hacking, Larry Laudan and Andrew Pickering represent significant examples of people trying to avoid the pitfalls of both realism and relativism; I share that enterprise.

From "The Invention of Science" by David Wootton

Related Words

• danger
• difficulty
• drawback
• peril
• risk
• snag