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Added 9 October 2026

trap

/tɹæp/ noun

In Latin: tenus Wiktionary

noun Definition from WordNet 3.1, Princeton University. Pronunciation from Wiktionary, via Kaikki.org. More about trap at Wordnik → Where our words come from →

A device in which something (usually an animal) can be caught and penned.
Drain consisting of a U-shaped section of drainpipe that holds liquid and so prevents a return flow of sewer gas.
Something (often something deceptively attractive) that catches you unawares.
the exam was full of trap questions

verb

Place in a confining or embarrassing position.
He was trapped in a difficult situation
Catch in or as if in a trap.
The men trap foxes
Hold or catch as if in a trap.
The gaps between the teeth trap food particles

Origin

From Middle English trappe, from Old English træppe, treppe (“trap, snare”) (also in betræppan (“to trap”)) from Proto-West Germanic *trappjā (“trap, snare”), from Proto-West Germanic *trappjan (“to step”), from Proto-Germanic *trapjaną (“to tread, stamp”), from Proto-Indo-European *drebʰ- (“to step, trip, trample”). Cognate with Dutch trap (“step, stair”), German Low German Trapp (“step, stair”). Akin also to West Frisian traap (“stepping, treading, stairway”), German Treppe (“step, stair”), Old English træppan (“to step, tread”). Connection to "step" is "that upon which one steps". French trappe and Spanish trampa are ultimately borrowings from Germanic.

From Wiktionary, via Kaikki.org (CC BY-SA)

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