释义 |
trap I. \ˈtrap\ noun (-s) Etymology: Middle English trap, trappe, from Old English treppe, træppe & Old French trape (of Germanic origin); akin to Middle Dutch trappe trap, step, stairs, Middle High German trappe, treppe step, stairs, Middle Low German & Middle Dutch trappen to stamp, Old English treppan to tread, Lithuanian drebeti to shake, quiver, Sanskrit dravati he runs, melts; basic meaning: running, tripping 1. a. : a device (as a pitfall, snare, or clamp that springs shut suddenly) for taking game or destructive animals : gin < sets his traps along the river > < caught like a rat in a trap > b. (1) : fish trap (2) : lobster pot c. : trap crop 2. : something by which one is unsuspectingly or deceptively caught or stopped in an action or progress < the Indians could be superb fighters … adepts at traps and ambushes — Seth Agnew > < prepared defensive traps for his opponent's attacks — G.A.Craig > < with traps and obstacles … confronting us on every hand — B.N.Cardozo > < expensive traps for ignorant tourists — Ann Leighton > 3. a. (1) : a hinged or collapsible door or cover of an enclosed space or pit designed to give way when walked on (2) : drop 3c b. : any of various covered openings constructed in the floor of a stage for the passage of persons or scenery; also : a device or machinery used to effect such a passage 4. a. (1) : a wooden instrument used in playing trapball and consisting of a pivoted arm on one end of which is placed the ball to be thrown into the air by striking the other end (2) : a similar device used in knur and spell b. : a device for hurling clay pigeons into the air c. : sand trap 2 d. : the act or an instance of stopping or catching a ball close to or against the ground e. : mousetrap 2a f. : tilt II 6 g. : a piece of leather webbing laced between the thumb and forefinger of a baseball glove to form a pocket for receiving the ball 5. a. Britain : deceit, trickery < a clever, ready-witted fellow, up to all sorts of trap — Samuel Lover > b. Britain : policeman, detective c. slang : mouth < shut your trap and listen — Richard Llewellyn > 6. : a light often sporty 2- or 4-wheeled horse-drawn carriage accommodating usually 2 to 4 persons in various seating arrangements (as face-to-face or back-to-back) 7. : any of various devices for preventing the passage of something often while allowing other matter to proceed: as a. : a device for drains or sewers consisting of a bend or partitioned chamber in which the liquid forms a seal to prevent the passage of sewer gas b. : steam trap c. : a device to separate sand and silt from flowing water d. : a place in a water pipe or pump where something (as an air pocket) is held or retained e. : a device to catch mercury or amalgam escaping from amalgamation plates f. : a usually sharply tuned circuit consisting of either conventional coils and condensers or transmission lines to eliminate an unwanted signal g. : a site of imperfection in the crystal structure of a solid at which otherwise mobile electrons and holes can be confined or trapped often more or less temporarily 8. : smash 2b 9. a. : a percussion instrument — usually used in plural < likes to play the traps > < has a set of traps > b. traps plural : the group of percussion instruments especially in a dance or theater orchestra 10. : the degree to which printing ink will trap < the sample definitely indicates poor trap … due to improper tackiness of the inks, one printing over the other — Graphic Arts Monthly > II. verb (trapped or archaic trapt ; trapped or archaic trapt ; trapping ; traps) Etymology: Middle English trappen, from trap, trappe trap transitive verb 1. a. : to catch or take in or as if in a trap or snare by skill, craft, or trickery : entrap, ensnare < traps muskrats in the fall of the year > < trap wasps in a jar containing beer and treacle — F.D.Smith & Barbara Wilcox > < trapped him … by forcing him to follow her into her home — Harrison Smith > < avoids the danger of being trapped upon cross-examination — Paul Wilson > b. : to place (as a person) in a restricted or difficult position : confine, entangle < the crash tools … useful in freeing persons trapped or imprisoned in a wrecked airplane — H.G.Armstrong > < those with food … share with the utterly trapped — Wallace Stegner > < trapped in a series of events over which he has no control — William Murray > < a story of people trapped in a criminal situation through their weakness rather than sin — David Dempsey > — sometimes used with into < his reliance on feeling … frequently trapped him into absurdities and muddleheadedness — F.B.Millett > c. : to induce (an opponent) usually by passing to bid or bet unwisely in a card game 2. : to provide or set (a place) with traps: as a. : to set (a place or area) with traps to catch an animal or a person < had a permit from the mortgage company to trap its lands — H.L.Davis > < has the place trapped with all sorts of burglar alarms — Erle Stanley Gardner > b. : to install a trap in (as a drain) < the law usually requires that drains be trapped > c. : to construct traps on (as a golf course) < the greens are heavily trapped — New Yorker > 3. : to separate out : stop, hold < these mountains trap rains and fogs generated over the ocean — American Guide Series: California > < a scheme which traps sunlight and turns it into motive power — English Digest > 4. a. : to stop or catch (as a soccer ball or baseball) immediately after a bounce b. : to catch (as a base runner) off base < traps many runners with his quick pick-off throw > c. : mousetrap < one of the big problems we had on offense was trapping the guards — Bob Hicks > 5. : to accept (superimposed ink often of another color) during a subsequent printing 6. : trapnest intransitive verb 1. : to set traps for game; also : to make a business of trapping animals < began to trap for a living — R.L.Neuberger > 2. : to become trapped (as steam in a radiator) 3. : to employ tactics in a card game designed to trap another player Synonyms: see catch III. noun (-s) Etymology: Middle English trappe, modification (probably influenced by Old Spanish trapo cloth, modification of Late Latin drappus) of Middle French drap cloth — more at drab 1. obsolete : an ornamented cloth covering especially for a horse : trapping — usually used in plural 2. traps plural : personal belongings : goods, luggage < put our little household traps into a freight car and went back — W.A.White > IV. transitive verb (trapped ; trapped ; trapping ; traps) Etymology: Middle English trappen, from trappe cloth, trap : to clothe or provide with or as if with traps or trappings : caparison < horse trapped for battle — P.H.Davis > < wrapped and trapped in their accouterments — Bruce Marshall > < feathers in which she has trapped out that idea — Irish Digest > V. noun also traprock \ˈ ̷ ̷| ̷ ̷\ (-s) Etymology: trap from Swedish trapp, from trappa stair, from Middle Low German trappe; akin to Middle Dutch trappe step, stair; traprock from trap (V) + rock; from its occurring in sheetlike masses that rise above one another like steps — more at trap (snare) 1. : any of various dark-colored fine-grained igneous rocks (as basalt or amygdaloid) used especially in road making 2. : an arrangement of rock strata involving their structural relations or varied lithology and texture that favors the accumulation of oil and gas VI. noun (-s) Etymology: Dutch, from Middle Dutch trappe Scotland : a movable flight of steps : stepladder VII. noun : a defensive maneuver in basketball in which two defenders converge quickly to block or guard the ball handler in order to steal the ball or force a passing error • trap verb |