trap

Less common meanings

8. 8
   mouthnounslangcountable or uncountable

   A person's mouth, in informal or rude use.

   She told him to keep his trap shut about the surprise party.

   One more word out of your trap and you're leaving.

   UsageMostly in shut your trap and keep your trap shut, which are rude.

   Similarmouth, gob, yap

   Note

   The image is of the mouth as something that snaps open and closed.

9. 9
   nounUScountablegolfus

   A hazard on a golf course consisting of a shallow, sand-filled hollow; the same thing as a bunker.

   He took two swings to escape the greenside trap and finished the hole with a double bogey.

   The designer ringed the 18th green with traps to punish wayward approach shots.

   UsageOften sand trap: in the sand trap, out of the trap.

   Similarbunker

   Note

   This is chiefly an American use, often short for sand trap. Elsewhere the hazard is a bunker, which is also the name the rules of golf use, and American players say bunker as well, so trap marks the speaker rather than a different feature of the course. Source

   Checked 2 Nov 2026 · 1 fact

   • The Rules of Golf use the term bunker for this feature. randa.org
10. 10
    drain bendnouncountable

    A bend, dip, or similar fitting in a drainpipe that stays filled with liquid, forming a seal that blocks foul gases while still letting waste liquid drain away.

    If a sink goes unused for months, the water in its trap can evaporate and let sewer gas into the house.

    The inspector flagged two traps under the new bathroom sinks that had been installed without vents.

11. 11
    back musclenounslangcountable

    The trapezius, the large muscle spanning the upper back and shoulders.

    Heavy deadlifts develop the traps along with the rest of the back.

    She felt a knot forming in her right trap after the long drive.

    UsageGym talk; in formal writing, trapezius is the better word.

    Similartrapezius

    Note

    A gym-floor clipping of trapezius, often plural because the muscle is paired: lifters build their traps, or feel a knot in one trap. It has nothing to do with the catching word. Source

    Checked 2 Nov 2026 · 3 facts

    • The muscle name trap is a clipping of trapezius. en.wiktionary.org
    • The trapezius is paired. my.clevelandclinic.org
    • The muscle sense has a separate origin from the catching word. en.wiktionary.org
12. 12
    clay shootingnouncountable or uncountable

    The sport or discipline of shooting clay targets launched into the air from a machine, away from the shooter.

    He took up trap after years of bird hunting.

    The club hosts a trap competition every spring.

    UsageUsed like a sport name: shoot trap, take up trap.

    Note

    A shortening of trapshooting, named for the trap that launches the targets, at first a cage releasing live birds, and used like the names of other sports: you shoot trap, take up trap, enter a trap competition. It is one of several clay-target disciplines. In trap, the targets fly away from the shooter at varying angles, and the shooter fires from a series of stations. Source

    Checked 31 Oct 2026 · 4 facts

    • The name originally referred to traps that released live pigeons, before clay targets were introduced. trapandfield.com
    • Trap is one of several clay-target disciplines. en.wikipedia.org
    • Trap targets fly away from the shooter at varying angles. boisegunclub.com
    • Trap shooters fire from a series of stations. olympics.com.au
13. 13
    hatchnouncountable or uncountable

    A trapdoor, or a similar lid or hatch that closes off a hole or opening.

    A hidden trap in the stage floor let the actor vanish mid-scene.

    Before the show, the crew checked that the trap beneath center stage opened and closed smoothly.

    Similarhatch

14. 14
    drug housenounslangUScountable or uncountablebefore a noun

    A house, vehicle, or street corner where illegal drugs are manufactured, packaged, or sold.

    He spent his nights working the trap, moving product for the local crew.

    The crew set up a new trap two blocks from the old one.

    UsageCommon in compounds: trap house, trap phone, trap car.

    Note

    African-American Vernacular slang, and very productive as a modifier: a trap phone is the phone kept for the business, a trap car the vehicle used for it. Close beside it sits the neighborhood sense, and the hip-hop genre took its name from the same world. Source

    Checked 31 Oct 2026 · 2 facts

    • The drug-location sense belongs to African-American vernacular slang. online.ucpress.edu
    • The hip-hop genre takes its name from the drug-location terminology. en.wikipedia.org
15. 15
    sell drugsverbslangintransitive

    To deal illegal drugs, especially in public places such as street corners.

    He trapped on that block for years before getting caught.

    Plenty of kids in the area trap to survive, not to get rich.

    UsageOften with a place: trap on a block.

    Similardeal, hustle

    Note

    The verb form of the drug-selling spot: to trap is to work it. In lyrics it often appears with a dropped g, as in the 'trappin' in the rain' of Snowd4y and Drake's 'Wah Gwan Delilah' (2024). Source

    Checked 2 Nov 2026 · 3 facts

    • 'Wah Gwan Delilah' is by Snowd4y featuring Drake. en.wikipedia.org
    • The song was released in 2024. en.wiktionary.org
    • The song contains the quoted phrase 'trappin' in the rain'. en.wiktionary.org
16. 16
    verbtransitivesports

    In soccer and other ball games, to halt a moving ball with the foot or body and take control of it.

    The midfielder trapped a long pass on her thigh and turned past the defender.

    Young players learn to trap the ball with the inside of the foot before they work on shooting.

    UsageUse on or with for the body part: trap it on your chest or trap it with your foot.

    Similarcontrol

    Note

    Coaches distinguish trapping from simply stopping the ball: a good trap cushions it so that it drops at the player's feet, ready for the next touch. Source

    Checked 2 Nov 2026 · 1 fact

    • Cushioning brings the ball under control for the player's next action. education.gov.za
17. 17
    rough areanounslangUScountable or uncountablebefore a noun

    A poor area, especially of a city, where crime is high and opportunities are few.

    She rapped about growing up in the trap.

    Every summer he goes back to the trap to run a free basketball camp for kids on his old block.

    UsageMostly in in the trap: she grew up in the trap.

    Similarhood, ghetto, slum

    Note

    Covering not just the drug-selling spot but the whole neighborhood around it, the word sits beside ghetto and hood with a sharper charge: the place is one that holds you. 'In the trap' is the set phrase in lyrics. Kyle T. Mays, writing in 2018, hears an echo of fur trapping in T.I.'s use of it. Source

    Checked 31 Oct 2026 · 2 facts

    • Kyle T. Mays suggested a connection between fur trapping and T.I.'s use of 'trap'. en.wiktionary.org
    • The cited Mays work was published in 2018. afam.ucla.edu
18. 18
    release devicenouncountable or uncountable

    A device used to hold an object and then release it suddenly.

    The lure whizzed past, the traps flew open, and the greyhounds surged toward the first bend.

    A spring-loaded trap launched the clay pigeons across the field.

    UsageOften in out of the traps: like greyhounds out of the traps.

    Note

    Here the point is the release rather than the catch: a greyhound trap holds the dogs only until its front springs open. The simile 'like greyhounds out of the trap' is a ready image for any sudden rush, such as children pouring out of school gates. The trapdoor sense belongs to the same family of hinged, sudden-opening devices. Source

    Checked 31 Oct 2026 · 1 fact

    • A greyhound starting trap holds dogs before opening to release them. gbgb.org.uk
19. 19
    pony cartnounhistoricalcountable or uncountable

    A light two-wheeled carriage mounted on springs, drawn by a horse or pony.

    She arrived at the station in a smart pony trap.

    I had told them they could have my trap to take them as far as the road went, because after that they had a long walk.

    1919, W[illiam] Somerset Maugham, The Moon and Sixpence

    UsageOften pony and trap or horse and trap.

    Similargig, cart

    Note

    In the novels it already sounds dated: D. H. Lawrence's Sons and Lovers (1913) calls one 'old-fashioned', and in George Orwell the vain mare Mollie draws Mr. Jones's trap. Today it mostly names a vehicle of the past, though pony-and-trap driving survives. Source

    Checked 2 Nov 2026 · 4 facts

    • Sons and Lovers was written by D. H. Lawrence and first published in 1913. en.wikisource.org
    • The narrator of Sons and Lovers describes a trap as old-fashioned. gutenberg.org
    • In George Orwell's Animal Farm, Mollie is a mare who draws Mr. Jones's trap. gutenberg.net.au
    • Mollie is characterized as vain. gutenberg.net.au
20. 20
    offensive slurnounslangderogatoryoffensiveslurcountable or uncountable

    Offensive slang for a male person, or a fictional character, who looks like or passes as female.

    He was banned for calling another player a trap.

    The slur brands trans women as traps to demean them.

    UsageFor a trans woman, simply say trans woman. For a male character dressed as female, say cross-dressing character.

    Note

    The slur takes its force from the 'trick' meaning. It casts the person as a deception sprung on someone else, and that is why it wounds. It is aimed above all at trans women and is often thrown together with other slurs. Source

    Checked 2 Nov 2026 · 1 fact

    • The slur invokes the idea that the person has deceived someone. en.wikipedia.org
21. 21
    noun

    Any dark, fine-grained igneous rock that is not granite, such as basalt or diabase; trap rock.
22. 22
    noun

    An exception raised by the processor or by an external event, interrupting the normal flow of a program.
23. 23
    verb

    To capture an error or exceptional condition so that it can be handled or processed.
24. 24
    noun

    A usually fictional location or feature deliberately placed on a map to detect copying by other mapmakers or map services.
25. 25
    noun

    A point in a water pipe, pump, or similar system where air collects because it has no outlet to escape.
26. 26
    noun

    A geological structure that confines migrating petroleum, allowing oil or gas to accumulate into a reservoir.
27. 27
    verb

    To fit a pipe, drain, or fixture with a trap that seals against gases or unwanted flow.
28. 28
    nounslang

    A successful landing on an aircraft carrier, in which the aircraft is caught and brought to a stop by the carrier's arresting gear.
29. 29
    verbslang

    To land an aircraft on a carrier successfully, the tailhook catching the arresting gear and bringing it to a stop.
30. 30
    verbslang

    To deceive a heterosexual man into having sex by presenting oneself as a woman.
31. 31
    nounslang

    A single enclosed stall in a public restroom.
32. 32
    verb

    To leave somewhere suddenly; to flee.
33. 33
    nounslang

    Vulgar slang for the vagina.

    But she carries the shawl so well that you never get a peep at her trap until she’s ready to show it to you.

    1941, Henry Miller, Under the Roofs of Paris (Opus Pistorum)
34. 34
    nounarchaic

    A portable set of steps or small stepladder that can be moved from place to place.

    There is likewise a cabin trap with five steps.

    1798, Edinburgh Weekly Journal
35. 35
    noun

    A shoe-shaped wooden device with a pivoting arm, used in an old bat-and-ball game to flip the ball up so it can be struck.
36. 36
    noun

    An old English bat-and-ball game in which the ball is launched from a pivoting wooden device and then hit.
37. 37
    nounarchaic

    A cop or constable.
38. 38
    nounarchaic

    Personal possessions or luggage, usually in the plural.

    "Carry your traps out, Ma?" asked one of the passengers.

    1938, Xavier Herbert, Capricornia
39. 39
    nounslangAustralia

    An official who checked miners' licenses on the Australian goldfields during the gold rush.

    Diggers were angered by frequent licence inspections and harassment by 'the traps' (the goldfield police).

    2006, Helen Calvert, Jenny Herbst
40. 40
    nounslang

    Cash a sex worker brings in and passes to the pimp who controls them.
41. 41
    verbdated

    To work a door across a mine passage, opening and shutting it to let carts through and keep air flowing.
42. 42
    verb

    To decorate a horse or other thing with fancy coverings and harness.