Meaning & use
trap
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Meanings
nouncountable
A device or hole built to catch an animal or a person.
Grammar: Often in compounds: mousetrap, bear trap.
Patterns
- set a trap
- fall into a trap
The farmer set a trap for the fox.
A mouse was caught in the trap.
They dug a pit trap along the path.
nouncountablefigurative
A difficult situation that is hard to escape from, or a trick meant to catch someone out.
Grammar: Used with fall into or walk into.
Patterns
- fall into a trap
- a trap for someone
He realized the question was a trap.
Debt can be a trap that is hard to leave.
The police set a trap to catch the thief.
verbtransitive
To catch or hold someone or something so that they cannot get away.
Grammar: Takes an object: trap a rat.
Patterns
- trap someone in something
- trap someone into doing something
Hunters trapped rabbits in the woods.
The miners were trapped underground.
Heavy snow trapped us in the cabin.
verbtransitive
To collect and hold something such as heat, gas or dirt so that it cannot escape.
Grammar: Takes an object such as heat: trap heat.
Patterns
- trap something in something
The thick walls trap heat in winter.
Greenhouse gases trap warmth in the atmosphere.
The filter traps dust before it reaches the room.
Word forms
| plural | traps |
|---|---|
| third person singular | traps |
| past tense | trapped |
| past participle | trapped |
| -ing form | trapping |
Common combinations
- set a trap
- They set a trap to catch the rat.
- fall into a trap
- Don't fall into the trap of comparing yourself to others.
- poverty trap
- Low wages can create a poverty trap.
- trapped in
- She felt trapped in a boring job.
- booby trap
- The soldiers found a booby trap in the doorway.
- tourist trap
- The restaurant is a tourist trap with high prices.
Synonyms and how they differ
- snare
- Snare is a trap made of a noose or net for small animals, and is also used figuratively with a more literary tone.
- ambush
- Ambush is a surprise attack from a hidden place, while trap is wider and may involve a device or a trick.
- pitfall
- Pitfall is a hidden danger or difficulty, but not a deliberate plan to catch someone.
- catch
- Catch is the plain verb for taking hold of a moving thing, while trap suggests that the target is confined.
Opposites
Word family
Commonly confused: trap or trapped vs. trapt? trap or trapeze?
trap vs trapped vs. trapt
The past tense of trap is trapped with two p's; trapt is not a standard spelling.
trap vs trapeze
A trapeze is a swinging bar for acrobats, and has no connection to catching things.
Practice
The detectives set a ___ to catch the person who had been stealing from the shop.
Choose one answer.
Set a trap is the usual phrase for a plan to catch someone. Plan is also possible with make, but it is not used with set in this way, and the others do not fit.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “trap”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.