trap 1
(trăp)n.1. A contrivance for catching and holding animals, as a concealed pit or a clamplike device that springs shut suddenly.
2. A stratagem for catching or tricking an unwary person.
3. A confining or undesirable circumstance from which escape or relief is difficult: fell into poverty's trap.
4. A device for sealing a passage against the escape of gases, especially a U-shaped or S-shaped bend in a drainpipe that prevents the return flow of sewer gas by means of a water barrier.
5. Sports a. A device that hurls clay pigeons into the air in trapshooting.
b. A land hazard or bunker on a golf course; a sand trap.
c. traps A measured length of roadway over which electronic timers register the speed of a racing vehicle, such as a dragster.
7. Sports a. A defensive strategy or play, as in basketball or hockey, in which two or more defenders converge on an offensive player shortly after the player gains possession of the ball or puck.
b. The act of trapping a soccer ball.
8. Football A running play in which the ball carrier advances through a hole in the defensive line created by allowing a defensive lineman to penetrate the backfield.
9. A light two-wheeled carriage with springs.
10. A trapdoor.
11. traps Music Percussion instruments, such as snare drums and cymbals, especially in a jazz band.
12. Slang The human mouth.
v. trapped, trap·ping, traps
v.tr.1. To catch in a trap; ensnare.
2. To prevent from escaping or getting free: was trapped in the locked attic.
3. To deceive or trick by means of a scheme or plan. See Synonyms at
catch.
4. To seal off (gases) by a trap.
5. To furnish with traps or a trap.
6. Sports a. To catch (a ball) immediately after it has hit the ground.
b. To gain control of (a moving soccer ball) by allowing it to hit and bounce off a part of the body other than the arm or hand.
v.intr.1. To set traps for game.
2. To engage in trapping furbearing animals.
[Middle English, from Old English træppe.]
trap 2
(trăp) Archaic n. often traps Personal belongings or household goods.
tr.v. trapped,
trap·ping,
traps To furnish with trappings.
[Middle English trap, trapping, perhaps alteration of Old French drap, cloth, from Late Latin drappus.]
trap 3
(trăp)n. Any of several dark, fine-grained igneous rocks often used in making roads.
[Swedish trapp, from trappa, step, from Middle Low German trappe.]
American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
trap
(træp) n1. (Hunting) a mechanical device or enclosed place or pit in which something, esp an animal, is caught or penned
2. any device or plan for tricking a person or thing into being caught unawares
3. anything resembling a trap or prison
4. (Building) a fitting for a pipe in the form of a U-shaped or S-shaped bend that contains standing water to prevent the passage of gases
5. any similar device
6. (Shooting) a device that hurls clay pigeons into the air to be fired at by trapshooters
7. (General Sporting Terms) any one of a line of boxlike stalls in which greyhounds are enclosed before the start of a race
9. a light two-wheeled carriage
10. (Anatomy) a slang word for
mouth 11. (Golf) golf an obstacle or hazard, esp a bunker
12. (Instruments) (plural) jazz slang percussion instruments
13. (Law) (usually plural) obsolete slang Austral a policeman
vb,
traps,
trapping or trapped14. (tr) to catch, take, or pen in or as if in a trap; entrap
15. (tr) to ensnare by trickery; trick
16. (Building) (tr) to provide (a pipe) with a trap
17. (Hunting) to set traps in (a place), esp for animals
[Old English træppe; related to Middle Low German trappe, Medieval Latin trappa]
ˈtrapˌlike adj
trap
(træp) n (Horse Training, Riding & Manège) an obsolete word for
trappings2 vb,
traps,
trapping or trapped (often foll by: out) to dress or adorn
[C11: probably from Old French drap cloth]
trap
(træp) or traprock
n1. (Geological Science) any fine-grained often columnar dark igneous rock, esp basalt
2. (Geological Science) any rock in which oil or gas has accumulated
[C18: from Swedish trappa stair (from its steplike formation); see trap1]
Collins English Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged, 12th Edition 2014 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1994, 1998, 2000, 2003, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2014
trap1
(træp)
n., v. trapped, trap•ping. n. 1. a contrivance for catching game or other animals, as a mechanical device that springs shut suddenly.
2. a device, stratagem, or trick for catching a person unawares.
3. an unpleasant or confining situation from which it is difficult to escape.
4. any of various devices for removing undesirable substances from a moving fluid, vapor, etc., or for preventing passage of a substance.
5. an arrangement in a pipe, as a double curve or a U-shaped section, in which liquid remains and forms a seal for preventing the passage or escape of air or gases through the pipe.
7. Slang. mouth: Keep your trap shut.
8. traps, the percussion instruments of a jazz or dance band.
9. a device for hurling clay pigeons into the air in trapshooting.
10. an act or instance of trapping a ball.
11. a light, horse-drawn carriage.
v.t. 12. to catch in or as if in a trap; ensnare.
13. to catch by stratagem, artifice, or trickery.
14. to stop and hold by or as if by a trap.
15. to confine or hold without possibility of escape.
16. to provide with a trap or traps.
17. to catch (a ball) as it rises after having just hit the ground.
v.i. 18. to set traps for game.
19. to engage in the business of trapping animals for their furs.
20. to work the trap in trapshooting.
[before 1000; Middle English trappe, Old English træppe, c. Middle Dutch trappe trap, step, staircase; akin to Old English treppan to tread, Old Frisian, Middle High German treppe staircase]
trap2
(træp)
v.t. trapped, trap•ping, to furnish with or as if with trappings; caparison.
[1300–50; Middle English trappe, trappen]
trap3
(træp)
n. any of various fine-grained, dark-colored igneous rocks, esp. some form of basalt. Also called
traprock. [1785–95; < Swedish trapp, variant of trappa stair < Middle Low German trappe]
Random House Kernerman Webster's College Dictionary, © 2010 K Dictionaries Ltd. Copyright 2005, 1997, 1991 by Random House, Inc. All rights reserved.