TRAP


Meaning of TRAP in English

/ træp; NAmE / noun , verb

■ noun

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 mousetrap

TRICK

2.

a clever plan designed to trick sb, either by capturing them or by making them do or say sth 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 , sand trap , tourist trap

BAD SITUATION

3.

[ usually sing. ] an unpleasant situation from which it is hard to escape :

the unemployment trap

Some women see marriage as a trap.

—see also death trap , poverty trap

CARRIAGE

4.

a light carriage with two wheels, pulled by a horse :

a pony and trap

MOUTH

5.

( slang ) mouth

SYN gob :

Shut your trap! (= a rude way of telling sb to be quiet)

to keep your trap shut (= to not tell a secret)

FOR RACING DOG

6.

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

IN GOLF

7.

( NAmE ) = bunker

IDIOMS

- to fall into / avoid the trap of doing sth

—more at spring verb

■ verb

( -pp- ) [ vn ]

IN DANGEROUS / BAD SITUATION

1.

[ often passive ] to keep sb in a dangerous place or bad situation that they want to get out of but cannot :

Help! I'm trapped!

They were trapped in the burning building.

We became trapped by the rising floodwater.

He was trapped in an unhappy marriage.

I feel trapped in my job.

PART OF BODY / CLOTHING

2.

[usually + adv. / prep. ] to have part of your body, your clothing, etc. held in a place so tightly that you cannot remove it and it may be injured or damaged :

I trapped my coat in the car door.

The pain was caused by a trapped nerve.

CATCH

3.

to catch or keep sth in a place and prevent it from escaping, especially so that you can use it :

Solar panels trap energy from the sun.

4.

to force sb/sth into a place or situation that they cannot escape from, especially in order to catch them :

The escaped prisoners were eventually trapped in an underground garage and recaptured.

5.

to catch an animal in a trap :

Raccoons used to be trapped for their fur.

TRICK

6.

trap sb (into sth / into doing sth) to trick sb into sth :

He felt he had been trapped into accepting the terms of the contract.

••

WORD ORIGIN

Old 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 .

Oxford Advanced Learner's English Dictionary.      Оксфордский английский словарь для изучающик язык на продвинутом уровне.