trap

[ trap ]

/ træp /

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.

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

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.

trapdoor.

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.

Slang. mouth: Keep your trap shut.

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.

QUIZZES

DO YOU KNOW THIS VOCABULARY FROM "THE HANDMAID'S TALE"?

"The Handmaid's Tale" was required reading for many of us in school. Everyone else has probably watched the very popular and addictive TV show. Do you remember this vocabulary from the book, and do you know what these terms mean?

Question 1 of 10

decorum

the act of or need for making up one's mind.

dignified propriety of behavior, speech, dress, etc.

a company of singers, especially an organized group employed in church service.

TAKE THE QUIZ TO FIND OUT

Origin of trap

before 1000; Middle English trappe (noun), trappen (v.), Old English træppe (noun), cognate with Middle Dutch trappe (Dutch trap) trap, step, staircase; akin to Old English treppan to tread, German Treppe staircase

SYNONYMS FOR trap

1, 2 T rap , 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.

SEE SYNONYMS FOR trap ON THESAURUS.COM

OTHER WORDS FROM trap

trap·like, adjective

Words nearby trap

transvestite, transylvania, transylvanian alps, trantas dot, tranter, trap, trap car, trap cut, trap door, trap gun, trap house

Definition for trapped (2 of 2)

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

1300–50; Middle English trappe (noun), trappen (v.) < ?

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2020

Example sentences from the Web for trapped

Everybody is trapped in an elevator together and tempers run a little hot.
‘Archer’ Creator Adam Reed Spills Season 6 Secrets, From Surreal Plotlines to Life Post-ISIS|Marlow Stern|January 8, 2015|DAILY BEAST
But when I look out over the crowd now, I also see that they are trapped—trapped by their cowardice.
Random Hook-Ups or Dry Spells: Why Millennials Flunk College Dating|Ellie Schaack|January 1, 2015|DAILY BEAST
When I saw the fire in the restaurant, I ran down to the floor below, where I was trapped between flames above and below.
‘We’re Going to Die’: Survivors Recount Greek Ferry Fire Horror|Barbie Latza Nadeau|December 29, 2014|DAILY BEAST
I was definitely concerned [about former colleagues who may have been trapped inside].
CNN's Overnight Sydney Star|Lloyd Grove|December 16, 2014|DAILY BEAST

But on an A380 or 787 Dreamliner flying long haul, you can be trapped, rigid, in that seat for half a day.
Flying Coach Is the New Hell: How Airlines Engineer You Out of Room|Clive Irving|November 25, 2014|DAILY BEAST
I guess Ive never before even tried to guess what it means to be trapped?
Out of the Air|Inez Haynes Irwin
Tatsu grinned like a trapped badger when it was wrested from him, and said that he would find a way in spite of them all.
The Dragon Painter|Mary McNeil Fenollosa
Then Peg moved up and sniffed critically at the trapped foot.
The Yellow Horde|Hal G. Evarts
“‘The Eel’ has been trapped at last,” he laughed to himself.
The White Lie|William Le Queux
Yearly, thousands are trapped and soon pay the awful penalty.
The Vice Bondage of a Great City or the Wickedest City in the World|Robert O. Harland

British Dictionary definitions for trapped (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 trapped (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 trapped (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

Idioms and Phrases with trapped

trap

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

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trap

noun

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

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

QUIZZES

DO YOU KNOW THIS VOCABULARY FROM "THE HANDMAID'S TALE"?

Origin of trap

SYNONYMS FOR trap

OTHER WORDS FROM trap

Words nearby trap

Definition for trapped (2 of 2)

noun

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

Origin of trap

Example sentences from the Web for trapped

British Dictionary definitions for trapped (1 of 3)

noun

verb traps, trapping or trapped

Derived forms of trap

Word Origin for trap

British Dictionary definitions for trapped (2 of 3)

noun

verb traps, trapping or trapped

Word Origin for trap

British Dictionary definitions for trapped (3 of 3)

traprock

noun

Word Origin for trap

Idioms and Phrases with trapped

MEANINGS

WORD GAMES

LEARN

WRITING

WORD OF THE DAY

trap

noun

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

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

QUIZZES

DO YOU KNOW THIS VOCABULARY FROM "THE HANDMAID'S TALE"?

Origin of trap

SYNONYMS FOR trap

OTHER WORDS FROM trap

Words nearby trap

Definition for trapped (2 of 2)

noun

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

Origin of trap

Words related to trapped

Example sentences from the Web for trapped

British Dictionary definitions for trapped (1 of 3)

noun

verb traps, trapping or trapped

Derived forms of trap

Word Origin for trap

British Dictionary definitions for trapped (2 of 3)

noun

verb traps, trapping or trapped

Word Origin for trap

British Dictionary definitions for trapped (3 of 3)

traprock

noun

Word Origin for trap

Idioms and Phrases with trapped