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.

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.

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 traps (2 of 4)

trap ²

[ 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.) < ?

Definition for traps (3 of 4)

trap ³

[ 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

1785–95; < Swedish trapp, variant of trappa stair (so named from the stepped appearance of their outcrops) < Middle Low German trappe. See trap¹

Definition for traps (4 of 4)

trap ⁴

[ trap ]

/ træp /

noun Scot.

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

Origin of trap

⁴

1750–60; < Dutch: stepladder; see trap¹

Example sentences from the Web for traps

As I kept making different sketches, I thought it might be more colorful if these traps were lit up for the holidays.

New England’s Crazy Christmas Tree Tradition |Condé Nast Traveler |December 21, 2013 |DAILY BEAST
When a fish swims toward the promised land, she clamps her legs closed and traps it.

‘Naked and Afraid’ Is the Craziest Show on TV—You Just Have to Watch |Kevin Fallon |July 2, 2013 |DAILY BEAST
It is only what is left over after the cooking that ends up in the traps.

Janesville, Wisconsin, Paul Ryan’s Hometown, Plagued by Grease Thieves |Michael Daly |October 11, 2012 |DAILY BEAST
I felt that the draw of the money and the fame and all that goes along with that lifestyle were traps for me in my life.

Two California Women Turn Themselves Into Real-Life Versions of Thelma and Louise |Michael Daly |January 7, 2012 |DAILY BEAST

And the fact that it traps more heat is as well-established as the gravity that pulls that pen to the table top.

Al Gore Warms Up |Lloyd Grove |December 9, 2009 |DAILY BEAST
His idea was to build a series of traps all about the barn, covering every approach.

Frank Roscoe's Secret |Allen Chapman
The shells of snow over these pockets were traps for our feet; but we scrambled down, and presently came to patches of tussock.

South! |Sir Ernest Shackleton
They rubbed their boots with stale meat when they went the rounds, then left the traps for a week.

Monarch, The Big Bear of Tallac |Ernest Thompson Seton
Traps were set, and poisoned meat was discreetly put out, but only the coyotes suffered, apparently.

Motor Matt's Clue |Stanley R. Matthews
One snake is worth a dozen traps, for the reptile prowls into the burrows and nests of rats and mice and eats the entire brood.

Zoology: The Science of Animal Life |Ernest Ingersoll

British Dictionary definitions for traps (1 of 4)

traps

/ (træps) /

pl n

belongings; luggage

Word Origin for traps

C19: probably shortened from trappings

British Dictionary definitions for traps (2 of 4)

trap ¹

/ (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 traps (3 of 4)

trap ²

/ (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 traps (4 of 4)

trap ³

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

Idioms and Phrases with traps

trap

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

BROWSE DICTIONARY

Learning

trap

noun

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

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

Origin of trap

SYNONYMS FOR trap

OTHER WORDS FROM trap

Words nearby trap

Definition for traps (2 of 4)

noun

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

Origin of trap

Definition for traps (3 of 4)

noun Geology.

Origin of trap

Definition for traps (4 of 4)

noun Scot.

Origin of trap

Example sentences from the Web for traps

British Dictionary definitions for traps (1 of 4)

pl n

Word Origin for traps

British Dictionary definitions for traps (2 of 4)

noun

verb traps, trapping or trapped

Derived forms of trap

Word Origin for trap

British Dictionary definitions for traps (3 of 4)

noun

verb traps, trapping or trapped

Word Origin for trap

British Dictionary definitions for traps (4 of 4)

traprock

noun

Word Origin for trap

Idioms and Phrases with traps

BROWSE DICTIONARY

Learning

trap

noun

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

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

Origin of trap

SYNONYMS FOR trap

OTHER WORDS FROM trap

Words nearby trap

Definition for traps (2 of 4)

noun

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

Origin of trap

Definition for traps (3 of 4)

noun Geology.

Origin of trap

Definition for traps (4 of 4)

noun Scot.

Origin of trap

Words related to traps

Example sentences from the Web for traps

British Dictionary definitions for traps (1 of 4)

pl n

Word Origin for traps

British Dictionary definitions for traps (2 of 4)

noun

verb traps, trapping or trapped

Derived forms of trap

Word Origin for trap

British Dictionary definitions for traps (3 of 4)

noun

verb traps, trapping or trapped

Word Origin for trap

British Dictionary definitions for traps (4 of 4)

traprock

noun

Word Origin for trap

Idioms and Phrases with traps