trapped

[trapt]

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.

verb

1. the simple past tense and past participle of trap

Word History and Origins

Origin of trapped¹

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 head of the local fire service said he was not aware of anyone being trapped in nearby buildings but said searches were still ongoing.

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But on his way out from the court after his arrest, he shouted at the throng of waiting reporters that he was being "trapped".

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As long as they stay below a certain energy limit, they remain trapped.

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In recent years they pivoted to scams in which thousands of trafficked workers, many of them Chinese, are trapped, abused and forced to defraud others in criminal operations worth billions.

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Feeling like “a broken entity trapped in a kind of prison,” he finds peace by communing with the one person who can see him, Indian student and fellow lonely soul, Rosa.

Read more on Los Angeles Times

Related Words

• captured www.thesaurus.com
• cornered