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trap

/tɹæp/

noun

Meaning

  • A machine or other device designed to catch (and sometimes kill) animals, either by holding them in a container, or by catching hold of part of the body.

    "I put down some traps in my apartment to try and deal with the mouse problem."

  • A trick or arrangement designed to catch someone in a more general sense; a snare.

    "Unfortunately she fell into the trap of confusing biology with destiny."

  • A covering over a hole or opening; a trapdoor.

    "Close the trap, would you, before someone falls and breaks their neck."

  • A kind of movable stepladder or set of stairs.

  • A wooden instrument shaped somewhat like a shoe, used in the game of trapball

  • The game of trapball itself.

  • Any device used to hold and suddenly release an object.

    "They shot out of the school gates like greyhounds out of the trap."

  • A bend, sag, or other device in a waste-pipe arranged so that the liquid contents form a seal which prevents the escape of noxious gases, but permits the flow of liquids.

  • A place in a water pipe, pump, etc., where air accumulates for lack of an outlet.

  • A light two-wheeled carriage with springs.

  • A person's mouth.

    "Keep your trap shut."

  • (in the plural) Belongings.

  • A cubicle (in a public toilet).

    "I've just laid a cable in trap 2 so I'd give it 5 minutes if I were you."

  • Trapshooting.

  • A geological structure that creates a petroleum reservoir.

  • An exception generated by the processor or by an external event.

  • A mining license inspector during the Australian gold rush.

  • A vehicle, residential building, or sidewalk corner where drugs are manufactured, packaged, or sold. (Also used attributively to describe things which are used for the sale of drugs, e.g. "a trap phone", "a trap car".)

  • A fictional character from anime, or related media, who is coded as or has qualities typically associated with a gender other than the character's ostensible gender; otokonoko.

  • A trans woman, transfeminine person, or crossdressing man.

  • A genre of hip-hop music, with half-time drums and heavy sub-bass.

  • The money earned by a prostitute for a pimp.

Synonyms

snare,
trap music

verb

Meaning

  • To physically capture, to catch in a trap or traps, or something like a trap.

    "to trap foxes"

  • To ensnare; to take by stratagem; to entrap.

  • To provide with a trap.

    "to trap a drain"

  • To set traps for game; to make a business of trapping game

    "trap for beaver"

  • To leave suddenly, to flee.

  • To sell illegal drugs, especially in a public area.

  • To capture (e.g. an error) in order to handle or process it.

  • To attend to and open and close a (trap-)door.