snare
noun /sneə(r)/
/sner/
- a device used for catching small animals and birds, especially one that holds their leg so that they cannot escape synonym trap
- The rabbit’s foot was caught in a snare.
- (formal) a situation which seems attractive but is unpleasant and difficult to escape from
- City life can be full of snares for young people.
- the metal strings that are stretched across the bottom of a snare drum
Word Originlate Old English sneare, from Old Norse snara. Sense (3) is probably from Middle Low German, Middle Dutch snare ‘harp string’.