trap

[ trap ]

/ træp /

Save This Word!

See synonyms for: trap / trapped / trapping on Thesaurus.com

noun

a contrivance used for catching game or other animals, as a mechanical device that springs shut suddenly.

any device, stratagem, trick, or the like for catching a person unawares.

any of various devices for removing undesirable substances from a moving fluid, vapor, etc., as water from steam or cinders from coal gas.

Also called air trap . an arrangement in a pipe, as a double curve or a U-shaped section, in which liquid remains and forms a seal for preventing the passage or escape of air or of gases through the pipe from behind or below.

traps, the percussion instruments of a jazz or dance band.

trap music.

Slang. trap house (def. 1).

Trapshooting, Skeet. a device for hurling clay pigeons into the air.

trapdoor.

Golf. sand trap.

Sports. an act or instance of trapping a ball.

Also called mousetrap, trap play .Football. a play in which a defensive player, usually a guard or tackle, is allowed by the team on offense to cross the line of scrimmage into the backfield and is then blocked out from the side, thereby letting the ball-carrier run through the opening in the line.

the piece of wood, shaped somewhat like a shoe hollowed at the heel, and moving on a pivot, used in playing the game of trapball.

the game of trapball.

Slang. mouth: Keep your trap shut.

Slang: Sometimes Disparaging and Offensive. (especially in anime) a crossdressing man who is perceived as or passes as a woman: a disparaging and offensive term when referring to a trans woman.

Chiefly British. a carriage, especially a light, two-wheeled one.

verb (used with object), trapped, trap·ping.

to catch in a trap; ensnare: to trap foxes.

to catch by stratagem, artifice, or trickery.

to furnish or set with traps.

to provide (a drain or the like) with a trap.

to stop and hold by a trap, as air in a pipe.

Sports. to catch (a ball) as it rises after having just hit the ground.

Football. to execute a trap against (a defensive player).

verb (used without object), trapped, trap·ping.

to set traps for game: He was busy trapping.

to engage in the business of trapping animals for their furs.

Trapshooting, Skeet. to work the trap.

QUIZ

ARE YOU A TRUE BLUE CHAMPION OF THESE "BLUE" SYNONYMS?

We could talk until we're blue in the face about this quiz on words for the color "blue," but we think you should take the quiz and find out if you're a whiz at these colorful terms.

Question 1 of 8

Which of the following words describes “sky blue”?

navy

beryl

azure

TAKE THE QUIZ TO FIND OUT

Meet Grammar Coach

Write or paste your essay, email, or story into Grammar Coach and get grammar help

Improve Your Writing

Meet Grammar CoachImprove Your Writing

Origin of trap

First recorded before 1000; Middle English trappe (noun), trappen (verb), Old English træppe (noun), cognate with Middle Dutch trappe (Dutch trap ) “trap, step, staircase”; akin to Old English treppan “to tread,” German Treppe “staircase”

synonym study for trap

1, 2. Trap , pitfall , snare apply to literal or figurative contrivances for deceiving and catching animals or people. Literally, a trap is a mechanical contrivance for catching animals, the main feature usually being a spring: a trap baited with cheese for mice. Figuratively, trap suggests the scheme of one person to take another by surprise and thereby gain an advantage: a trap for the unwary. A pitfall is (usually) a concealed pit arranged for the capture of large animals or of people who may fall into it; figuratively, it is any concealed danger, error, or source of disaster: to avoid the pitfalls of life. A snare is a device for entangling birds, rabbits, etc., with intent to capture; figuratively, it implies enticement and inveiglement: the temptress' snare.

OTHER WORDS FROM trap

trap·like, adjective

Words nearby trap

trans woman, Transylvania, Transylvanian Alps, Trantas dot, tranter, trap, trapan, Trapani, trapball, trap car, trap cut

Other definitions for trap (2 of 4)

trap²

[ trap ]

/ træp /

noun

traps, Informal. personal belongings; baggage.

verb (used with object), trapped, trap·ping.

to furnish with or as with trappings; caparison.

Origin of trap

First recorded in 1300–50; Middle English trappe (noun), trappen (verb); of unknown origin

Other definitions for trap (3 of 4)

trap³

[ trap ]

/ træp /

noun Geology.

any of various fine-grained, dark-colored igneous rocks having a more or less columnar structure, especially some form of basalt.

Also called traprock.

Origin of trap

First recorded in 1785–95; from Swedish trapp, variant of trappa “stair” (so named from the stepped appearance of their outcrops), from Middle Low German trappe; see trap¹

Other definitions for trap (4 of 4)

trap⁴

[ trap ]

/ træp /

noun Scot.

a ladder or ladderlike device used to reach a loft, attic, etc.

Origin of trap

⁴

First recorded in 1750–60; from Dutch: “stepladder”; see trap¹

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2021

How to use trap in a sentence

The second night after we arranged this trap configuration, the male fish owl of the Faata River pair approached the enclosure and ate half the salmon inside before stumbling onto the noose carpet on the bank and engaging the trap transmitter.
The quest to snare—and save—the world’s largest owl|Jonathan Slaght|August 28, 2020|Popular-Science
It’s easy to fall into the trap of believing that once you build it, they will come.
Content marketing fails: How to analyze and improve|Michael Doer|August 27, 2020|Search Engine Watch
BofA says steer clear of so-called “value traps” like Mohawk Industries, KeyCorp, and Flowserve Corporation.
12 value stocks to buy right now—and 3 to avoid—according to Bank of America|Anne Sraders|August 25, 2020|Fortune
Kang and colleagues confirmed that 4VA can attract locusts in the real world by setting sticky traps baited with the pheromone.
A single molecule may entice normally solitary locusts to form massive swarms|Jonathan Lambert|August 12, 2020|Science News

NASA’s Spirit rover, for example, met its end after getting stuck in a sand trap on Mars in 2009.
Wiggly wheels might help rovers plow through loose lunar soils|Maria Temming|June 26, 2020|Science News For Students
But Reconcile is from a slightly different arm of Houston hip-hop—more focused on spiritual triumph over the trap.
Down With the King: Christianity Isn’t Hiding in Rap’s Closet|Stereo Williams|December 28, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Do not fall into the trap of being swayed by political notion.
Is Pope Francis Backpedaling on Gays?|Jay Michaelson|November 19, 2014|DAILY BEAST
You now have a growing number of candidates and elected officials who can do that without having to fall into that trap.
The Republican Rainbow Coalition Is Real|Tim Mak|November 18, 2014|DAILY BEAST
By the time Sotloff was allowed to leave the border crossing, the trap was set.
Obama Administration and Sotloff Family Battle Over Blame for Journalist’s Kidnapping|Josh Rogin|September 22, 2014|DAILY BEAST
In this way, the U.S. would avoid the trap of being viewed, once again, as the leader of an anti-Islamic crusade.
Stop the ISIS War Before It Gets Worse!|Jeffrey Sachs, Michael Shank|September 17, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Sometimes the animal was caught in a trap which was nothing less than a hut of logs with a single entrance.
Our Little Korean Cousin|H. Lee M. Pike
Haggard had disappeared with the celerity of a harlequin who jumps through a trap.
The Pit Town Coronet, Volume I (of 3)|Charles James Wills
A patch of light fell clear on the side of the trap, and on Longcluse's ungloved hand as he leaned on it.
Checkmate|Joseph Sheridan Le Fanu
A trap-door had opened in the floor of his consciousness; his first, early love sheltered in his aching heart again.
The Wave|Algernon Blackwood
But if they all pick up the broadcast that this is where to get a free ride home, I'll have just another sand trap here.
Fee of the Frontier|Horace Brown Fyfe

British Dictionary definitions for trap (1 of 3)

trap¹

/ (træp) /

noun

a mechanical device or enclosed place or pit in which something, esp an animal, is caught or penned

any device or plan for tricking a person or thing into being caught unawares

anything resembling a trap or prison

a fitting for a pipe in the form of a U-shaped or S-shaped bend that contains standing water to prevent the passage of gases

any similar device

a device that hurls clay pigeons into the air to be fired at by trapshooters

any one of a line of boxlike stalls in which greyhounds are enclosed before the start of a race

See trap door

a light two-wheeled carriage

a slang word for mouth

golf an obstacle or hazard, esp a bunker

(plural) jazz slang percussion instruments

(usually plural) Australian obsolete, slang a policeman

verb traps, trapping or trapped

(tr) to catch, take, or pen in or as if in a trap; entrap

(tr) to ensnare by trickery; trick

(tr) to provide (a pipe) with a trap

to set traps in (a place), esp for animals

Derived forms of trap

traplike, adjective

Word Origin for trap

Old English træppe; related to Middle Low German trappe, Medieval Latin trappa

British Dictionary definitions for trap (2 of 3)

trap²

/ (træp) /

noun

an obsolete word for trappings (def. 2)

verb traps, trapping or trapped

(tr often foll by out) to dress or adorn

Word Origin for trap

C11: probably from Old French drap cloth

British Dictionary definitions for trap (3 of 3)

trap³

traprock

/ (træp) /

noun

any fine-grained often columnar dark igneous rock, esp basalt

any rock in which oil or gas has accumulated

Word Origin for trap

C18: from Swedish trappa stair (from its steplike formation); see trap 1

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

Other Idioms and Phrases with trap

trap

see fall into a trap; mind like a steel trap.

trap

Origin of trap

synonym study for trap

OTHER WORDS FROM trap

Words nearby trap

Other definitions for trap (2 of 4)

Origin of trap

Other definitions for trap (3 of 4)

Origin of trap

Other definitions for trap (4 of 4)

Origin of trap

Words related to trap

How to use trap in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for trap (1 of 3)

Derived forms of trap

Word Origin for trap

British Dictionary definitions for trap (2 of 3)

Word Origin for trap

British Dictionary definitions for trap (3 of 3)

traprock

Word Origin for trap

Other Idioms and Phrases with trap