Adjacent Words

Trap definitions

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Webster's 1828 Dictionary

TRAP, n.
1. An engine that shuts suddenly or with a spring, used for taking game; as a trap for foxes. A trap is a very different thing from a snare; though the latter word may be used in a figurative sense for a trap.
2. An engine for catching men. [Not used in the U. States.]
3. An ambush; a stratagem; any device by which men or other animals may be caught unawares.
Let their table be made a snare and a trap. Romans 11.
4. A play in which a ball is driven with a stick.
TRAP, n. In mineralogy, a name given to rocks characterized by a columnar form, or whose strata or beds have the form of steps or a series of stairs. Kirwan gives this name to two families of basalt. It is now employed to designate a rock or aggregate in which hornblend predominates, but it conveys no definite idea of any one species; and under this term are comprehended hornblend, hornblend slate, greenstone, greenstone slate, amygdaloid, basalt, wacky, clinkstone porphyry, and perhaps hypersthene rock, augite rock, and some varieties of sienite.
TRAP, v.t. To catch in a trap; as, to trap foxes or beaver.
1. To ensnare; to take by stratagem.
I trapp'd the foe.
2. To adorn; to dress with ornaments. [See Trappings.] [the verb is little used.]
TRAP, v.i. To set traps for game; as, to trap for beaver.

WordNet (r) 3.0 (2005)

n
1: a device in which something (usually an animal) can be caught and penned
2: drain consisting of a U-shaped section of drainpipe that holds liquid and so prevents a return flow of sewer gas
3: something (often something deceptively attractive) that catches you unawares; "the exam was full of trap questions"; "it was all a snare and delusion" [syn: trap, snare]
4: a device to hurl clay pigeons into the air for trapshooters
5: the act of concealing yourself and lying in wait to attack by surprise [syn: ambush, ambuscade, lying in wait, trap]
6: informal terms for the mouth [syn: trap, cakehole, hole, maw, yap, gob]
7: a light two-wheeled carriage
8: a hazard on a golf course [syn: bunker, sand trap, trap] v
1: place in a confining or embarrassing position; "He was trapped in a difficult situation" [syn: trap, pin down]
2: catch in or as if in a trap; "The men trap foxes" [syn: trap, entrap, snare, ensnare, trammel]
3: hold or catch as if in a trap; "The gaps between the teeth trap food particles"
4: to hold fast or prevent from moving; "The child was pinned under the fallen tree" [syn: trap, pin, immobilize, immobilise]

Merriam Webster's

I. noun Etymology: Middle English, from Old English treppe & Anglo-French trape (of Germanic origin); akin to Middle Dutch trappe trap, stair, Old English treppan to tread Date: before 12th century 1. a device for taking game or other animals; especially one that holds by springing shut suddenly 2. a. something by which one is caught or stopped unawares; also a position or situation from which it is difficult or impossible to escape b. a football play in which a defensive player is allowed to cross the line of scrimmage and then is blocked from the side while the ballcarrier advances through the spot vacated by the defensive player c. the act or an instance of trapping the ball in soccer d. a defensive maneuver in basketball in which two defenders converge quickly on the ball handler to steal the ball or force a bad pass 3. a. a device for hurling clay pigeons into the air b. sand trap c. a piece of leather or section of interwoven leather straps between the thumb and index finger of a baseball glove that forms an extension of the pocket 4. slang mouth 5. a light usually one-horse carriage with springs 6. any of various devices for preventing passage of something often while allowing other matter to proceed; especially a device for drains or sewers consisting of a bend or partitioned chamber in which the liquid forms a seal to prevent the passage of sewer gas 7. plural a group of percussion instruments (as a bass drum, snare drums, and cymbals) used especially in a dance or jazz band 8. an arrangement of rock strata that favors the accumulation of oil and gas 9. plural [speed trap] a measured stretch of a course over which electronic timing devices measure the speed of a vehicle (as a racing car or dragster) II. verb (trapped; trapping) Date: 14th century transitive verb 1. a. to catch or take in or as if in a trap ; entrap b. to place in a restricted position ; confine <trapped in the burning wreck> 2. to provide or set (a place) with traps 3. a. stop, hold <these mountains trap rains and fogs generated over the ocean — American Guide Series: California> b. to separate out (as water from steam) 4. a. to catch (as a baseball) immediately after a bounce b. to block out (a defensive football player) by means of a trap c. to stop and gain control of (a soccer ball) with a part of the body other than the hands or arms intransitive verb 1. to engage in trapping animals (as for furs) 2. to make a defensive trap in basketball Synonyms: see catch • trapper noun III. transitive verb (trapped; trapping) Etymology: Middle English trappen, from trappe caparison, from Anglo-French trape, probably from Medieval Latin trapus cloth, by-form of Late Latin drappus Date: 14th century to adorn with or as if with trappings IV. noun Etymology: Swedish trapp, from trappa stair, from Middle Low German trappe; akin to Middle Dutch trappe stair Date: 1794 traprock

Oxford Reference Dictionary

1. n. & v. --n. 1 a an enclosure or device, often baited, for catching animals, usu. by affording a way in but not a way out. b a device with bait for killing vermin, esp. = MOUSETRAP. 2 a trick betraying a person into speech or an act (is this question a trap?). 3 an arrangement to catch an unsuspecting person, e.g. a speeding motorist. 4 a device for hurling an object such as a clay pigeon into the air to be shot at. 5 a compartment from which a greyhound is released at the start of a race. 6 a shoe-shaped wooden device with a pivoted bar that sends a ball from its heel into the air on being struck at the other end with a bat. 7 a a curve in a downpipe etc. that fills with liquid and forms a seal against the upward passage of gases. b a device for preventing the passage of steam etc. 8 Golf a bunker. 9 a device allowing pigeons to enter but not leave a loft. 10 a two-wheeled carriage (a pony and trap). 11 = TRAPDOOR. 12 sl. the mouth (esp. shut one's trap). 13 (esp. in pl.) colloq. a percussion instrument esp. in a jazz band. --v.tr. (trapped, trapping) 1 catch (an animal) in a trap. 2 catch or catch out (a person) by means of a trick, plan, etc. 3 stop and retain in or as in a trap. 4 provide (a place) with traps. Phrases and idioms: trap-ball a game played with a trap (see sense 6 of n.). trap-shooter a person who practises trap-shooting. trap-shooting the sport of shooting at objects released from a trap. Derivatives: traplike adj. Etymology: OE treppe, træppe, rel. to MDu. trappe, med.L trappa, of uncert. orig. 2. v.tr. (trapped, trapping) (often foll. by out) 1 provide with trappings. 2 adorn. Etymology: obs. trap (n.): ME f. OF drap: see DRAPE 3. n. (in full trap-rock) any dark-coloured igneous rock, fine-grained and columnar in structure, esp. basalt. Etymology: Sw. trapp f. trappa stair, f. the often stairlike appearance of its outcroppings

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Trap Trap, v. t. [AS. treppan. See Trap a snare.] 1. To catch in a trap or traps; as, to trap foxes. 2. Fig.: To insnare; to take by stratagem; to entrap. ``I trapped the foe.'' --Dryden. 3. To provide with a trap; as, to trap a drain; to trap a sewer pipe. See 4th Trap, 5.

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Trap Trap, v. i. To set traps for game; to make a business of trapping game; as, to trap for beaver.

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Trap Trap, a. Of or pertaining to trap rock; as, a trap dike.

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Trap Trap, n. [OE. trappe, AS. treppe; akin to OD. trappe, OHG. trapo; probably fr. the root of E. tramp, as that which is trod upon: cf. F. trappe, which is trod upon: cf. F. trappe, which perhaps influenced the English word.] 1. A machine or contrivance that shuts suddenly, as with a spring, used for taking game or other animals; as, a trap for foxes. She would weep if that she saw a mouse Caught in a trap. --Chaucer. 2. Fig.: A snare; an ambush; a stratagem; any device by which one may be caught unawares. Let their table be made a snare and a trap. --Rom. xi. 9. God and your majesty Protect mine innocence, or I fall into The trap is laid for me! --Shak. 3. A wooden instrument shaped somewhat like a shoe, used in the game of trapball. It consists of a pivoted arm on one end of which is placed the ball to be thrown into the air by striking the other end. Also, a machine for throwing into the air glass balls, clay pigeons, etc., to be shot at. 4. The game of trapball. 5. A bend, sag, or partitioned chamber, in a drain, soil pipe, sewer, etc., arranged so that the liquid contents form a seal which prevents passage of air or gas, but permits the flow of liquids. 6. A place in a water pipe, pump, etc., where air accumulates for want of an outlet. 7. A wagon, or other vehicle. [Colloq.] --Thackeray. 8. A kind of movable stepladder. --Knight. Trap stairs, a staircase leading to a trapdoor. Trap tree (Bot.) the jack; -- so called because it furnishes a kind of birdlime. See 1st Jack.

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Trap Trap, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Trapped; p. pr. & vb. n. Trapping.] [Akin to OE. trappe trappings, and perhaps from an Old French word of the same origin as E. drab a kind of cloth.] To dress with ornaments; to adorn; -- said especially of horses. Steeds . . . that trapped were in steel all glittering. --Chaucer. To deck his hearse, and trap his tomb-black steed. --Spenser. There she found her palfrey trapped In purple blazoned with armorial gold. --Tennyson.

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Trap Trap, n. [Sw. trapp; akin to trappa stairs, Dan. trappe, G. treppe, D. trap; -- so called because the rocks of this class often occur in large, tabular masses, rising above one another, like steps. See Tramp.] (Geol.) An old term rather loosely used to designate various dark-colored, heavy igneous rocks, including especially the feldspathic-augitic rocks, basalt, dolerite, amygdaloid, etc., but including also some kinds of diorite. Called also trap rock. Trap tufa, Trap tuff, a kind of fragmental rock made up of fragments and earthy materials from trap rocks.

Collin's Cobuild Dictionary

(traps, trapping, trapped) Frequency: The word is one of the 3000 most common words in English. 1. A trap is a device which is placed somewhere or a hole which is dug somewhere in order to catch animals or birds. N-COUNT 2. If a person traps animals or birds, he or she catches them using traps. The locals were encouraged to trap and kill the birds. VERB: V n 3. A trap is a trick that is intended to catch or deceive someone. He was trying to decide whether the question was some sort of a trap. N-COUNT 4. If you trap someone into doing or saying something, you trick them so that they do or say it, although they did not want to. Were you just trying to trap her into making some admission?... She had trapped him so neatly that he wanted to slap her. VERB: V n into -ing/n, V n 5. To trap someone, especially a criminal, means to capture them. (JOURNALISM) The police knew that to trap the killer they had to play him at his own game... VERB: V n 6. A trap is an unpleasant situation that you cannot easily escape from. The Government has found it's caught in a trap of its own making. N-COUNT: usu sing 7. If you are trapped somewhere, something falls onto you or blocks your way and prevents you from moving or escaping. The train was trapped underground by a fire... The light aircraft then cartwheeled, trapping both men... Until he saw the trapped wagons and animals, he did not realize the full extent of the catastrophe. VERB: be V-ed, V n, V-ed 8. When something traps gas, water, or energy, it prevents it from escaping. Wool traps your body heat, keeping the chill at bay... The volume of gas trapped on these surfaces can be considerable. VERB: V n, V-ed 9. see also trapped, booby-trap, death trap, poverty trap 10. If someone falls into the trap of doing something, they think or behave in a way which is not wise or sensible. Many people fall into the trap of believing that home decorating must always be done on a large scale... PHRASE: V inflects, oft PHR of -ing 11. If someone tells you to shut your trap or keep your trap shut, they are telling you rudely that you should be quiet and not say anything. (INFORMAL, RUDE) = shut up PHRASE: V inflects

International Standard Bible Encyclopedia

(moqesh; thera, literally, "hunting," used metaphorically in Psalms and Romans as "trap"): Any of the methods for taking birds; see SNARE; NET; GIN, etc. It is probable that a trap was more particularly a hole in the ground covered with twigs, concealed by leaves and baited with food. Such devices were common in taking the largest animals and may have been used with birds also. Trap is mentioned frequently in connection with snare and in such manner as to indicate that they were different devices: "Know for a certainty that Yahweh your God will no more drive these nations from out of your sight; but they shall be a snare and a trap unto you" (Jos 23:13). Another such reference will be found in Ps 69:22:

"Let their table before them become a snare;

And when they are in peace, let it become a trap."

This is quoted in Ro 11:9: "Let their table be made a snare, and a trap,

And a stumbling block, and a recompense unto them."

An instance where a trap alone is referred to can be found in Jer 5:26: "They set a trap, they catch men." Isa 42:22 uses this expression, "snared in holes." This might mean that a snare was placed in a hole, or that the hole was the snare to lure bird or animal to its death. The former proposition is sustained by Job, who says, "A noose is hid for him in the ground, and a trap for him in the way" (18:10). This translation appears as if it were reversed and should read, "A trap is hid for him in the ground and a noose in the way."

Gene Stratton-Porter

Soule's Dictionary of English Synonyms

I. n. 1. Snare, gin, pitfall, springe, toil. 2. Ambush, stratagem, artifice, pitfall, trapan, toil, wile. 3. Trap-ball. 4. Trap-rock. II. v. a. 1. Ensnare, entrap, springe, noose. 2. Trapan, ensnare, take by stratagem.

1811 Dictionary of the Vulgar Tongue

To understand trap; to know one's own interest.

Moby Thesaurus

Dionaea, French door, John Law, allure, allurement, ambuscade, ambush, ambushment, archway, artifice, back door, bag, bait, bait the hook, baited trap, barway, bazoo, beguile, birdlime, blind, bobby, booby trap, bulkhead, bull, carriage entrance, catch, catch out, catch up, cellar door, cellarway, chaps, charm, chops, come-on, confine, conspiracy, constable, deadfall, deathtrap, deceive, deception, decoy, decoy duck, device, door, doorjamb, doorpost, doorway, drawcard, drawing card, dupe, embouchure, endearment, enmesh, ensnare, ensnarl, entangle, enticement, entoil, entrap, enweb, face, feint, firetrap, flytrap, fool, foul, front door, gab, gambit, gate, gatepost, gateway, gendarme, gin, gob, ground bait, harpoon, hatch, hatchway, hold, hook, hook in, imprison, intrigue, inveigle, inveiglement, jaw, jaws, jowls, keep, kisser, land, lasso, lime, lintel, lips, lock, lure, lurking hole, machination, mandibles, maneuver, maw, maxilla, mesh, mine, mole trap, mousetrap, mouth, mug, mush, muzzle, nail, net, noose, oral cavity, paddy, peeler, pitfall, plot, ploy, police, porch, portal, porte cochere, postern, premaxilla, propylaeum, pylon, rattrap, rope, row, ruse, sack, scuttle, seducement, set gun, shadowing, side door, snag, snare, snarl, sniggle, spear, spread the toils, spring gun, springe, stalking-horse, stile, storm door, stratagem, subterfuge, surveillance, take, tangle, tangle up with, temptation, threshold, tollgate, trap door, trapfall, trick, trip, turnpike, turnstile, wile, wind, yap