deadfall
/ˈdɛdfɔːl
/noun North American
1A trap consisting of a heavy weight positioned to fall on an animal.They also utilized two kinds of traps, the deadfall and the twitch-up snare....
- The ngosha is at the same time a very tasty bird that is an important source of protein, especially for young children who trap them in fields with deadfalls (mariya).
- I've drawn up plans for pits and deadfalls, as well as tracked paths for falling trees and boulders.
2 [mass noun] A tangled mass of fallen trees and brush: the brush and deadfall along the river stopped us cold...
- The next hour was spent gathering up all the brush and deadfall we could find.
- When we were doing one of our training days we couldn't get through because there's deadfall down across the river and it's a narrow channel.
- Traversing wooded areas with dense tree cover or deadfall required numerous minor detours.
2.1 [count noun] A fallen tree: the deadfall was a poplar about ten inches in diameter...
- The slough holds white crappie, and this time of year it's common for them to gather in groups around deadfalls, cypress, flooded willows and other cover in the shallows.
- She'd found plenty of driftwood and deadfalls in the vicinity of the gazebo, enough to construct a crude lean-to on the creek bank.
- The variety of shelters built is great - some use deadfalls, others tunnel into snowbanks.
3 informal A disreputable drinking place: I’ve been on a few benders in deadfalls along the Alaska Highway