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as in hitch
a danger or difficulty that is hidden or not easily recognized
he noticed the booby trap in the interviewer's question just a little too late
Synonyms & Similar Words
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of booby-trap
Greg Rosalsky, NPR, 3 Sep. 2025
These may show up in Ukraine before long, perhaps walking ahead of patrols to find booby traps and clear routes through minefields, or taking bullets to expose enemy firing position.
—David Hambling, Forbes.com, 2 Sep. 2025
Colonial militias attempted periodic raids, but historical records report that they were met with rugged terrain, booby traps and counterattacks.
—Justin Dunnavant, The Conversation, 27 Aug. 2025
Some enterprising Viet Cong had defused this and turned into a booby trap detonatable by wires from brush a few hundred feet away.
—Edward Lotterman, Twin Cities, 27 July 2025
See All Example Sentences for booby-trap
Noun
Tourists and anyone else who dared come to the place would have to circumnavigate snipers perched in watchtowers, booby traps, and roaming guard dogs.
—Greg Rosalsky, NPR, 3 Sep. 2025
These may show up in Ukraine before long, perhaps walking ahead of patrols to find booby traps and clear routes through minefields, or taking bullets to expose enemy firing position.
—David Hambling, Forbes.com, 2 Sep. 2025
Colonial militias attempted periodic raids, but historical records report that they were met with rugged terrain, booby traps and counterattacks.
—Justin Dunnavant, The Conversation, 27 Aug. 2025
Some enterprising Viet Cong had defused this and turned into a booby trap detonatable by wires from brush a few hundred feet away.
—Edward Lotterman, Twin Cities, 27 July 2025
See All Example Sentences for booby-trap
Recent Examples of Synonyms for booby-trap
Verb
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In the game, Elliott operated as the right ‘No 10’ (attacking midfielder), passing neatly and playing well in a first half that only offered promise in spurts.—
Jacob Tanswell,
New York Times,
23 Oct. 2025
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All patients were treated with immune checkpoint inhibitors, a type of immunotherapy drugs that help the immune system recognize and attack tumor cells more effectively.—
Melissa Rudy,
FOXNews.com,
23 Oct. 2025
Noun
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What To Know A naval mine, an explosive device deployed in the water, is designed to destroy ships and submarines and to deny the enemy access to specific ocean areas or confine them to certain locations.—
Ryan Chan,
MSNBC Newsweek,
21 Oct. 2025
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The defense counsel for Cintula, a pensioner and former mine worker, stonemason, writer and public activist, argued that not every attack on an official was terrorism.—
Reuters,
CNN Money,
21 Oct. 2025
Noun
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The only hitch was the two-handed pinch-and-hold gesture for rotating some objects.—
PC Magazine,
PC Magazine,
22 Oct. 2025
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Season 51 of the variety series has seemed to have gone on without a hitch after several notable names left the show ahead of the new season's premiere.—
Taijuan Moorman,
USA Today,
17 Oct. 2025
Verb
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And this is the same thing all Gazans did after their homes were bombed or damaged.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
21 Oct. 2025
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Israel had just bombed Iran, sparking a nearly two-week war during which 1,200 Iranians and 31 Israelis were killed.—
Roxana Hadadi,
Vulture,
14 Oct. 2025
Noun
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If Hamas fails to disarm, that will give Netanyahu an excuse to restart the war and avoid all the political land mines that the next phases present him.—
Thomas L. Friedman,
Mercury News,
16 Oct. 2025
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If Hamas fails to disarm, that will give Netanyahu an excuse to restart the war and avoid all the political land mines that the next phases present him.—
Thomas Friedman,
Twin Cities,
15 Oct. 2025
Verb
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Executives praised the film, which follows the Palestine Red Crescent Society’s failed attempt to save Hind, a Palestinian child who was killed in Gaza in 2024 after being trapped in a car under Israeli fire.—
Rebecca Keegan,
NBC news,
23 Oct. 2025
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Even in the 19th century, the novel was considered a dangerous medium, one that would trap people—especially impressionable young women—in the thrall of isolation and fantasy.—
Ian Bogost,
The Atlantic,
23 Oct. 2025
Noun
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The risk to coffee production from climate change has some researchers trying to develop more climate-resistant varieties of coffee.—
Preston Fore,
Fortune,
25 Oct. 2025
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This can increase the risk of burns or further injury.—
RikkiLynn Shields Hannigan,
Health,
25 Oct. 2025
Noun
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Below, snag must-have savings before the sale ends on October 29.—
Rachel Trujillo,
PEOPLE,
26 Oct. 2025
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The Miami Hurricanes hit their first snag of the season with their upset loss to the Louisville Cardinals on Friday.—
Jordan McPherson,
Miami Herald,
23 Oct. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Booby-trap.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/booby-trap. Accessed 29 Oct. 2025.
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