1
as in ambush
a device or scheme for capturing another by surprise
undercover agents devised a trap to catch the counterfeiters a bear trap
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
2
as in ambushment
a setup in which hidden attackers lie in wait
an overland route to the Far East that was once notorious for the many robbers who laid traps for unsuspecting wayfarers
Synonyms & Similar Words
3
as in tangle
something that catches and holds
the promotion is really just a trap to keep her from taking a new job elsewhere
Synonyms & Similar Words
1
as in to tangle
to catch or hold as if in a net
an ambitious young man who was now trapped in a series of shady business deals
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in to grab
to take physical control or possession of (something) suddenly or forcibly
finally trapped the annoying fly in the palm of his hand
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
show current usage.
Read More
Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors.
Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of trap
Lauren Wicks, Southern Living, 19 July 2025
Infused into his mundane, bluesy trap music is a lone wolf spirit that comes from being an only child whose father was incarcerated for most of his childhood and whose mother worked into the night.
—Alphonse Pierre, Pitchfork, 18 July 2025
Madeline Heim, jsonline.com, 24 July 2025
More than 840 people of the 2,500 aboard died, many of them trapped inside the vessel as water poured in when the ship tipped over only a few feet from the riverbank.
—Chicago Tribune, 24 July 2025
See All Example Sentences for trap
Noun
Hang traps to attract the moths with pheromones and catch them using sticky glue.
—Lauren Wicks, Southern Living, 19 July 2025
Infused into his mundane, bluesy trap music is a lone wolf spirit that comes from being an only child whose father was incarcerated for most of his childhood and whose mother worked into the night.
—Alphonse Pierre, Pitchfork, 18 July 2025
Verb
The effort has included trapping and tracking them with GPS monitors, and installing deterrents that emit sounds, bubbles and lights.
—Madeline Heim, jsonline.com, 24 July 2025
More than 840 people of the 2,500 aboard died, many of them trapped inside the vessel as water poured in when the ship tipped over only a few feet from the riverbank.
—Chicago Tribune, 24 July 2025
See All Example Sentences for trap
Recent Examples of Synonyms for trap
Noun
-
The charges stem from an ambush at the Prairieland Detention Center earlier this month.—
Jessica Schladebeck,
New York Daily News,
16 July 2025
-
But in a motion last week, Lively’s team objected to that location, saying that Baldoni’s lawyers were setting up a media ambush, in which Lively would be besieged by paparazzi on her way in and out.—
Gene Maddaus,
Variety,
14 July 2025
Noun
-
Grace and Company Silky Satin Pillowcase Upgrade your nighttime routine with this ultra-smooth satin pillowcase designed to help prevent overnight frizz, tangles, and breakage.—
Toni Sutton,
People.com,
10 July 2025
-
By the 20th century, Rome was like any other city, with trains and cars that let people live farther from the urban center and a tangle of highways and suburbs and shopping centers that sprawled far beyond the original fortified walls.—
Krista Langlois,
Smithsonian Magazine,
7 July 2025
Noun
-
The kind guard in the lobby and my mother’s terrible, open mouth.—
Rebecca Chace
July 14,
Literary Hub,
14 July 2025
-
Vásquez Lasso hit Montano in the mouth area, and Montano shot the officer in the head, arm and leg as children and others in a nearby playground took cover.—
Madeline Buckley,
Chicago Tribune,
14 July 2025
Verb
-
The second method for estimating water in the parent melt uses the melt entrapped in minerals of CE6 basalts.—
Keith Cooper,
Space.com,
16 July 2025
-
In February 2021, a Martian meteorite with the planet’s atmosphere entrapped in it went under the hammer at Christie’s auction house.—
Kameryn Griesser,
CNN Money,
16 July 2025
Verb
-
Leave your troubles behind and grab a lime, because Thursday is National Tequila Day.—
Ana Gutierrez,
Austin American Statesman,
25 July 2025
-
Concerned, the roommates grabbed golf clubs from one of the first-floor bedrooms and checked the house for a possible intruder.—
Christopher Cann,
USA Today,
24 July 2025
Noun
-
And Gemma and her cohorts are forced to develop new technologically advanced gizmos in a hurry and repurpose items on the fly in order to do battle with enemies amid the snares and dangers of these elaborate settings.—
Richard Brody,
New Yorker,
26 June 2025
-
Wolves are killed across the Northern Rockies using steel-jawed traps, neck snares, packs of dogs and even snowmobiles.—
Jim Martin,
Denver Post,
27 June 2025
Noun
-
The restaurant was a favorite hangout of the Gilbert Goons and the site of seven parking lot attacks, according to beating videos, interviews and police records.—
Perry Vandell,
AZCentral.com,
24 July 2025
-
And given that the English top flight jumped above the Bundesliga for the number of direct attacks per game last season, players who can be decisive at speed will continue to command premium prices.—
Thom Harris,
New York Times,
23 July 2025
Noun
-
That is why this fiction is not built on facts, but rather on traversing the labyrinths of memory.—
John Hopewell,
Variety,
15 July 2025
-
No matter how complicated the labyrinth of modern politics becomes, that thread will lead us through.—
Linda McMahon,
The Orlando Sentinel,
6 July 2025
Cite this Entry
“Trap.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/trap. Accessed 29 Jul. 2025.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share