From Longman Dictionary of Contemporary Englishtraptrap1 /træp/ ●●○ noun [countable] 1 
for animalsCATCH a piece of equipment for catching animals The only way to catch mice is to set a trap. He stepped into a bear trap covered in snow. → mousetrap2 clever trickTRICK/DECEIVE a clever trick that is used to catch someone or to make them do or say something that they did not intend tolay/set a trap (for somebody) Police had set a trap for hooligans at the match.fall/walk into a trap Mr Smith has walked straight into a trap laid by the Tories.3 bad situationUNPLEASANTESCAPE an unpleasant or difficult situation that is difficult to escape from Amanda felt that marriage was a trap.debt/unemployment etc trap people caught in the unemployment trap4 → fall into/avoid the trap of doing something5 → keep your trap shut6 → shut your trap!7 vehicleTTB a vehicle with two wheels, pulled by a horse8 sport American EnglishDSG sandtrap SYN bunker British English9 dog raceDSO a special gate from which a greyhound is set free at the beginning of a race → booby trap, death trap, → poverty trap at poverty(3), → speed trap, tourist trap
for animalsCATCH a piece of equipment for catching animals The only way to catch mice is to set a trap. He stepped into a bear trap covered in snow. → mousetrap2 clever trickTRICK/DECEIVE a clever trick that is used to catch someone or to make them do or say something that they did not intend tolay/set a trap (for somebody) Police had set a trap for hooligans at the match.fall/walk into a trap Mr Smith has walked straight into a trap laid by the Tories.3 bad situationUNPLEASANTESCAPE an unpleasant or difficult situation that is difficult to escape from Amanda felt that marriage was a trap.debt/unemployment etc trap people caught in the unemployment trap4 → fall into/avoid the trap of doing something5 → keep your trap shut6 → shut your trap!7 vehicleTTB a vehicle with two wheels, pulled by a horse8 sport American EnglishDSG sandtrap SYN bunker British English9 dog raceDSO a special gate from which a greyhound is set free at the beginning of a race → booby trap, death trap, → poverty trap at poverty(3), → speed trap, tourist trapExamples from the Corpus
trap• I didn't take the money with me, because I was worried it might be a trap.• He informed the Sheriffs of his planned meeting, and helped lay another trap to make the final arrests.• But trappers will keep tabs on the extra traps until February, officials said.• Usually Gloria told her to shut her trap.• To cap it off, the last but one trap contained a ten pounder.• The sun was moving across the sky and we had almost forgotten to check our traps.• If we're lucky, the thief will fall right into our trap.• This is the phenomenon generally known as the poverty trap.• Sensing the lawyer's trap, Horvath refused to answer.• They rolled faster and faster, a steel trap of locomotion and churning rhythms, down the hill.set ... trap• They are setting a trap for me, she decided.• Or, you can set traps for them to prevent then from reaching the pots to lay their eggs.• So Gharr no only had Mala but also knew our pod and had set a trap for me.• Beatrix had set a trap for Maurice and he had walked straight into it.• She sets a trap and sets off a series of events that entangle household, family and friends.• She must remember to tell Mrs Cooke to set a trap.• It may be necessary to set a trap for him.lay/set a trap (for somebody)• They are setting a trap for me, she decided.• Or, you can set traps for them to prevent then from reaching the pots to lay their eggs.• Beatrix had set a trap for Maurice and he had walked straight into it.• And the speaker may be totally unaware of laying a trap.• She sets a trap and sets off a series of events that entangle household, family and friends.• It may be necessary to set a trap for him.• Clare wouldn't put it past Sam to use a rat to lay a trap for her.debt/unemployment etc trap• Job fears and the mortgage debt trap are failing to halt the housing slump.• It became a more serious potential debt trap than running up bills at retailers.• Susan George reveals the dynamic behind the debt trap.• So could her friends Michelle, Lenny, Tony, Sue a whole line of people caught in the unemployment trap.• This is likely to be particularly serious if either the poverty trap or the unemployment trap is encountered.• This has led a number of commentators to argue that the unemployment trap is now of little importance to the real world.• The unemployment trap has been substantially eased and the simplification of social security has had major effects.traptrap2 ●●○ verb (trapped, trapping) [transitive] 1 in a dangerous placePREVENT to prevent someone from escaping from somewhere, especially a dangerous place Twenty miners were trapped underground. The building collapsed, trapping dozens of people in the rubble. There’s no way out! We’re trapped!Grammar Trap is often passive in this meaning.2 → be/feel trapped3 animalCATCH to catch an animal or bird using a trap4 catch somebodyCATCH to catch someone by forcing them into a place from which they cannot escape The police trapped the terrorists at a roadblock.► see thesaurus at catch5 trickTRICK/DECEIVE to trick someone so that you make them do or say something that they did not intend totrap somebody into (doing) something I was trapped into signing a confession.6 crushSQUASH British English to get a part of your body crushed between two objects SYN pinch American English Mind you don’t trap your fingers in the door. pain from a trapped nerve7 gas/water etcKEEP/STORE to prevent something such as gas or water from getting away solar panels that trap the sun’s heat→ See Verb tableExamples from the Corpus
trap• Methane is a potent greenhouse gas, each molecule trapping 25 times as much heat radiation as one molecule of carbon dioxide.• Then the Eustachian tube collapsed and the material was trapped.• The men were trapped at a road block near the junction of I-95 and Route 128.• Greenhouse gases trap heat in the earth's atmosphere.• Some trapped heat is necessary to sustain life, but excessive accumulation can lead to warming.• You know there is a gay man trapped in her body!• Also, one photo shows a large object that resembles an iceberg trapped in solid sea ice.• Workers were trapped in the ship's engine room by the fire.• Police have the man trapped inside a bar on the city's southside.• Police have the man trapped inside the bar.• I meant at least to insulate the nest with some polystyrene ceiling tiles, but I was afraid of trapping the animal inside.• The pollution is worst during winter, when thermal inversions trap the warmer polluted air above the city.trap somebody into (doing) something• The politicians had trapped him into a game played by their rules.• Teenagers like Kelly say the tough fines have trapped her into a life of prostitution.• This is an easy trap to fall into because humans quite naturally promote people on the basis of superior performance.• They have trapped Blue into doing nothing, into being so inactive-as to reduce his life to almost no life at all.• I must take no notice of their politeness or kindness which was designed to trap me into giving information.• Anthony says she trapped him into marriage before he was ready.• But of course, you aren't out to trap me into matrimony, so it is easier for you to be frank.• Line item budgets trap resources into old patterns.• The one tourist trap we fell into was St Tropez.trapped nerve• She consulted the defendant specialist who performed an operation to free the trapped nerve.• The plaintiff suffered a trapped nerve after a hernia operation.• The strong-running Kiwi has been out for around five weeks after a trapped nerve in his back.• But I've now got a trapped nerve in my neck.Origin trap1 Old English træppe, treppe 