# pitfall

> English word · Noun · IPA /ˈpɪtfɔːl/ · frequency rank #51,319

## Definitions
1. A potential, unsuspected, hidden problem, hazard, or danger that is easily encountered but not immediately obvious.
2. A type of trap consisting of a concealed pit in the ground, which the victim is supposed to fall into and not be able to get out from.
3. An antipattern.
4. Subsidence below ground in a mine, which can cause the ground level above to drop.

## Etymology
First recorded use in the 14th century from pit + fall in the sense of "pit trap, pit snare", from Old English fealle (“trap, snare”), from Proto-Germanic *fallą, *fallaz (“a fall, trap”), from Proto-Indo-European *(s)pōl-. Cognate with German Falle (“trap, snare”).

## Source
Compiled from Wiktionary via kaikki.org (CC BY-SA). Data vintage: 2026-05-06.
Canonical page: https://plainspell.com/en/word/pitfall