booby-trap 1 of 2

as in to attack
to place hidden explosive devices in or under booby-trapped the field bordering the army's camp

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booby trap

2 of 2

noun

1
as in mine
a usually concealed explosive device designed to go off when disturbed luckily, the bomb squad didn't find any booby traps

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2
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

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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 booby-trap
Noun
And that does not even consider the likelihood of a beacon which is also a booby trap. David Hambling, Forbes, 29 Nov. 2024 From guns to booby traps, Dutch leads the charge to take down the gnarly, terrifying looking alien. Lauren Brown West-Rosenthal, Parents, 28 Nov. 2024 Wary of booby traps and with evening closing in, the troops did not enter the building until the next day. James MacKenzie, Reuters, 18 Oct. 2024 The characters must navigate different booby traps and escape from one cube into another. EW.com, 17 Oct. 2024 See All Example Sentences for booby-trap
Recent Examples of Synonyms for booby-trap
Verb
  • Korematsu was just 22 years old and working hard to expand his family’s flower nursery outside San Francisco when the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor in 1941.
    Lauren Stienstra, Time, 17 Apr. 2025
  • Every American should reject the president's and his cronies' illegitimate use of government power to attack his enemies.
    Thomas G. Moukawsher, MSNBC Newsweek, 17 Apr. 2025
Noun
  • On the monument to those killed, arrows point outward to Pennsylvania, where unarmed strikers were killed at the Lattimer mine in 1897, and to South Africa, where peaceful protesters were killed at an anti-apartheid rally in Sharpeville in 1960.
    Lauren Frayer, NPR, 19 Apr. 2025
  • The administration’s goal to address the National Energy Emergency is clearly high on its agenda, but doing so successfully will require a sustained effort to open mines and create critical mineral processing capacity outside of China.
    Ariel Cohen, Forbes.com, 18 Apr. 2025
Noun
  • The night’s crossing of the Athina went off without a hitch, and Captain Hallax arrived home the next morning.
    Silvana Paternostro Nathalia Angarita, New York Times, 8 Apr. 2025
  • Despite these concerns, the plan went off without a hitch.
    Ashley Vega, People.com, 7 Apr. 2025
Verb
  • On April 19, 1995, Timothy McVeigh bombed a federal building, killing 167 people and injuring 684.
    Thomas G. Moukawsher, MSNBC Newsweek, 13 Apr. 2025
  • Israel has bombed, besieged and raided them, some several times, while accusing Hamas of using them as cover for its fighters.
    Wafaa Shurafa and Samy Magdy, Los Angeles Times, 13 Apr. 2025
Noun
  • Last summer, Duley, who lost both legs and an arm to an explosive device in Afghanistan in 2011, exhibited his images of unexploded land mines at Atelier Jolie.
    Melena Ryzik, New York Times, 24 Mar. 2025
  • The Ottawa Treaty bans the use of anti-personnel land mines and advocates for its destruction.
    Abhishek Bhardwaj, Interesting Engineering, 10 Feb. 2025
Verb
  • The animal is unlikely to attack unless trapped or provoked.
    Mike Stunson, Kansas City Star, 21 Apr. 2025
  • Neighbors also informed the outlet that both police and child services — in N.Y.C., the Administration for Children's Services (ACS) — had visited the apartment earlier in the week, while Promise was trapped inside, but left without entering the apartment.
    Bailey Richards, People.com, 20 Apr. 2025
Noun
  • This enables enterprises to select trustworthy models, enforce AI risk policies, and respond to emerging threats in real time.
    Dasha Shunina, Forbes.com, 24 Apr. 2025
  • Pushing for a federal insurance pool would lessen the financial risk of covering foster care agencies, benefiting nonprofits and children across the nation.
    Joseph T. Monahan, Chicago Tribune, 24 Apr. 2025
Noun
  • Repair kits are a simple way to patch snags and rips, but replacing a screen can be a better long-term solution.
    Cody Godwin, USA Today, 8 Apr. 2025
  • The big picture: The council's vote threw a last-minute snag into a plan, years in the making, to centrally organize St. Paul's garbage collection, with a single hauler handling most of the work.
    Kyle Stokes, Axios, 31 Mar. 2025

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Cite this Entry

“Booby-trap.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/booby-trap. Accessed 28 Apr. 2025.

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