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Definition of trap noun from the Oxford Advanced Learner's Dictionary

trap

noun
 
 
/træp/
 
/træp/
Idioms
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    for animals

  1.  
    a piece of equipment for catching animals
    • a fox with its leg in a trap
    • A trap was laid, with fresh bait.
    see also gin trap, mousetrap
    Oxford Collocations Dictionaryadjective
    • animal
    • bear
    • mouse
    • …
    verb + trap
    • be caught in
    • get caught in
    • free something from
    • …
    See full entry
    2.

    trick

  2.  
    a clever plan designed to trick somebody, either by capturing them or by making them do or say something that they did not mean to do or say
    • She had set a trap for him and he had walked straight into it.
    see also booby trap, radar trap, speed trap, tourist trap
    Oxford Collocations Dictionaryadjective
    • hidden
    • obvious
    • potential
    • …
    verb + trap
    • lay
    • set
    • set up
    • …
    See full entry
    3.

    bad situation

  3.  
    [usually singular] an unpleasant situation from which it is hard to escape
    • the unemployment trap
    • Some women see marriage as a trap.
    see also death trap, fire trap, poverty trap
    Oxford Collocations Dictionaryadjective
    • hidden
    • obvious
    • potential
    • …
    verb + trap
    • lay
    • set
    • set up
    • …
    See full entry
    4.

    carriage

  4. a light carriage with two wheels, pulled by a horse
    • a pony and trap
    5.

    mouth

  5. (slang) mouth synonym gob
    • Shut your trap! (= a rude way of telling somebody to be quiet)
    • to keep your trap shut (= to not tell a secret)
    6.

    for racing dog

  6. a cage from which a greyhound (= a type of dog) is let out at the start of a race

    7. in golf

  7. (also sand trap)
     (both especially North American English)
    (also bunker British and North American English)
    a small area filled with sand on a golf course
    8. Word OriginOld English træppe (in coltetræppe ‘Christ's thorn’); related to Middle Dutch trappe and medieval Latin trappa, of uncertain origin. The verb dates from late Middle English.
Idioms
spring a trap
  1. to make a trap for catching animals close suddenly
  2. to try to trick somebody into doing or saying something; to succeed in this
to fall into/avoid the trap of doing something
  1. to do/avoid doing something that is a mistake but that seems at first to be a good idea
    • Parents often fall into the trap of trying to do everything for their children.
    • The movie avoids the trap of spending too much time explaining things.
See trap in the Oxford Advanced American DictionarySee trap in the Oxford Learner's Dictionary of Academic English
Check pronunciation: trap

Nearby words

trait
noun
 
 
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