Noun

Singular trap

Plural traps

trap (plural traps)

1. 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.

2. A trick or arrangement designed to catch someone in a more general sense.

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

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

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

4. A wooden instrument shaped somewhat like a shoe, used in the game of trapball; the game of trapball itself.
5. Any device used to hold and suddenly release an object.

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

6. 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.
7. A place in a water pipe, pump, etc., where air accumulates for want of an outlet.
8. (historical) A light two-wheeled carriage with springs.

   Have James prepare the trap – I wish to visit the parson.

9. A kind of movable stepladder.
10. (slang) A persons' mouth.

    To ask a person not to reveal any information

    Keep your trap shut.

11. (plural) belongings
    • 1870, Mark Twain, Running for Governor,

    ...his cabin-mates in Montana losing small valuables from time to time, until at last, these things having been invariably found on Mr. Twain's person or in his "trunk" (newspaper he rolled his traps in)...

12. (slang, pejorative) A transvestite, a man that one engages in a relationship with, believing him to be a woman.

    I saw your brother asking a trap out last night at the bar.

13. (computing) An exception generated by the processor.

Synonyms

• snare

Derived terms

• activity trap
• beartrap/bear trap
• booby trap
• bus trap
• firetrap
• fish-trap
• honey trap

• mantrap
• mousetrap
• offside trap
• optical trap
• rattletrap
• tourist trap
• trapdoor

A trap is a device or tactic intended to harm, detect, or hinder an intruder. Trap may refer to:

• Trap (carriage), a type of horse-drawn carriage
• Trap (computing), a code or signal designed to capture errors and reveal where they are
• Trap (novel), a novel by Peter Mathers
• Trap (plumbing), a U-shaped pipe located below a drain; also called a water seal
• Trap (poker), a poker strategy
• Deccan Traps, in west-central India
• Siberian Traps in Russia
• Trapezius muscle or trap
• Sand trap, a type of hazard in golf

Acronyms

• Tartrate resistant acid phosphatase or TRAP
• Twin reversed arterial perfusion, a twin pregnancy abnormality
• Slang term for a male to female pre-op transsexual, specifically one with female secondary sex characteristics but retaining a penis.