Trap word meaning and definition

[noun] the act of concealing yourself and lying in wait to attack by surprise
[noun] a hazard on a golf course
[noun] a device in which something (usually an animal) can be caught and penned
[noun] a light two-wheeled carriage
[noun] a device to hurl clay pigeons into the air for trapshooters
[noun] drain consisting of a U-shaped section of drainpipe that holds liquid and so prevents a return flow of sewer gas
[noun] informal terms for the mouth
[noun] something (often something deceptively attractive) that catches you unawares; "the exam was full of trap questions"; "it was all a snare and delusion"
[verb] to hold fast or prevent from moving; "The child was pinned under the fallen tree"
[verb] catch in or as if in a trap; "The men trap foxes"
[verb] hold or catch as if in a trap; "The gaps between the teeth trap food particles"
[verb] place in a confining or embarrassing position; "He was trapped in a difficult situation"

\Trap\, v. t. [imp. & p. p. {Trapped}; p. pr. & vb. n. {Trapping}.] [Akin to OE. trappe trappings, and perhaps from an Old French word of the same origin as E. drab a kind of cloth.] To dress with ornaments; to adorn; -- said especially of horses. Steeds . . . that trapped were in steel all glittering. --Chaucer. To deck his hearse, and trap his tomb-black steed. --Spenser. There she found her palfrey trapped In purple blazoned with armorial gold. --Tennyson.
\Trap\, n. [Sw. trapp; akin to trappa stairs, Dan. trappe, G. treppe, D. trap; -- so called because the rocks of this class often occur in large, tabular masses, rising above one another, like steps. See {Tramp}.] (Geol.) An old term rather loosely used to designate various dark-colored, heavy igneous rocks, including especially the feldspathic-augitic rocks, basalt, dolerite, amygdaloid, etc., but including also some kinds of diorite. Called also {trap rock}. {Trap tufa}, {Trap tuff}, a kind of fragmental rock made up of fragments and earthy materials from trap rocks.
\Trap\, a. Of or pertaining to trap rock; as, a trap dike.
\Trap\, n. [OE. trappe, AS. treppe; akin to OD. trappe, OHG. trapo; probably fr. the root of E. tramp, as that which is trod upon: cf. F. trappe, which is trod upon: cf. F. trappe, which perhaps influenced the English word.] 1. A machine or contrivance that shuts suddenly, as with a spring, used for taking game or other animals; as, a trap for foxes. She would weep if that she saw a mouse Caught in a trap. --Chaucer. 2. Fig.: A snare; an ambush; a stratagem; any device by which one may be caught unawares. Let their table be made a snare and a trap. --Rom. xi. 9. God and your majesty Protect mine innocence, or I fall into The trap is laid for me! --Shak. 3. A wooden instrument shaped somewhat like a shoe, used in the game of trapball. It consists of a pivoted arm on one end of which is placed the ball to be thrown into the air by striking the other end. Also, a machine for throwing into the air glass balls, clay pigeons, etc., to be shot at. 4. The game of trapball. 5. A bend, sag, or partitioned chamber, in a drain, soil pipe, sewer, etc., arranged so that the liquid contents form a seal which prevents passage of air or gas, but permits the flow of liquids. 6. A place in a water pipe, pump, etc., where air accumulates for want of an outlet. 7. A wagon, or other vehicle. [Colloq.] --Thackeray. 8. A kind of movable stepladder. --Knight. {Trap stairs}, a staircase leading to a trapdoor. {Trap tree} (Bot.) the jack; -- so called because it furnishes a kind of birdlime. See 1st {Jack}.
\Trap\, v. t. [AS. treppan. See {Trap} a snare.] 1. To catch in a trap or traps; as, to trap foxes. 2. Fig.: To insnare; to take by stratagem; to entrap. ``I trapped the foe.'' --Dryden. 3. To provide with a trap; as, to trap a drain; to trap a sewer pipe. See 4th {Trap}, 5.
\Trap\, v. i. To set traps for game; to make a business of trapping game; as, to trap for beaver.

Morse code: - .-. .- .--.