trapped

American  

[trapt] / træpt /

adjective

1. caught in or as if in a trap or by a ruse, trick, or stratagem.

   Relocate any trapped rabbit at least five miles from the capture site.

   Early in the visit I became the trapped witness to a nasty argument between my host and his wife, which they expected me to arbitrate.

2. (of air, water, etc.) held or contained in an enclosed space or in another substance.

   Make sure the clay is pressed flat, with no trapped air bubbles.

3. accidentally stuck or jammed in a narrow place from which release is difficult.

   This excellent telescopic ladder has finger guards—no more trapped fingers when letting it down!

4. set with traps.

   We followed the track carefully through heavily trapped bush to the meeting place.

5. (of a drain, pipe, or the like) furnished with a device for stopping undesirable substances from flowing through.

   The pipes discharge wastewater into a sewer, usually through a trapped drain.

6. Baseball. (of a ball) caught as it hits the ground.

   Challenges to the umpire included a trapped ball in the outfield that nobody else thought was actually caught.

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verb

1. the simple past tense and past participle of trap

Etymology

Origin of trapped

First recorded in 1425–75; trap ¹ ( def. ) + -ed ² ( def. ) for the adjective senses; trap ¹ ( def. ) + -ed ¹ ( def. ) for the verb sense

Example Sentences

“The material from the Middle East is trapped in the region, so this gives an opportunity for North America to actually start exporting polypropylene,” he said.

From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 5, 2026

Earlier, the interior ministry published on X that 40 firefighters responded to an emergency at the stadium "involving people trapped in a structure".

From BBC • Apr. 4, 2026

Smoke is easily trapped, and the forested hillsides are hard to access when fires start.

From Barron's • Apr. 3, 2026

I had seen so many people do the first couple of scenes so I wrote an additional scene, us being trapped in the back of a van in Episode 2.

From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 1, 2026

I am not going to be trapped again.

From "The Brightwood Code" by Monica Hesse

Related Words

• captured
• cornered