trapdoor
Americannoun
-
a door flush with the surface of a floor, ceiling, or roof.
-
the opening that it covers.
adjective
Other Word Forms
Noun Inflected Forms
Etymology
Origin of trapdoor
First recorded in 1325–75, trapdoor is from Middle English trappe dore. See trap 1, door
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.
See Examples For:
The loop has presented Clark with a trapdoor disguised as an exit.
From Salon ● May 30, 2026
The park, which closed in late December, contains games and rides that reference past MrBeast videos, such as a trapdoor tower and catapults.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jan. 3, 2026
She knows the location of the hidden trapdoor that leads to the rafters of the arch above the nave.
From New York Times ● May 6, 2024
That relegation trapdoor might be creaking open for Carlisle...
From BBC ● Mar. 31, 2024
He had to hold on tightly to the trapdoor to climb down the ladder.
From "The Diary of a Young Girl" by Anne Frank
Nor did evidence of trapdoors, subterranean rooms or tunnels at the school.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 17, 2024
"Are we now asking inspectors to pry up the floorboards and look for trapdoors?" he asked.
From BBC ● Sep. 22, 2023
There is action as well, involving intricate stagecraft like revolving platforms and trapdoors.
From Seattle Times ● Jun. 2, 2023
This adaptation of "Station Eleven" contains so many trapdoors and routes by which it could have gone astray.
From Salon ● Dec. 17, 2021
The bedlam in the street rose higher; more men climbed through trapdoors to the roof.
From "Native Son" by Richard Wright
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.
