# trap

> English word · Noun · IPA /tɹæp/ · frequency rank #4,130

## Definitions
1. A machine or other device designed to catch (and sometimes kill) animals, either by holding them in a container, or by catching hold of part of the body.
2. A trick or arrangement designed to catch someone in a more general sense; a snare.
3. A trick or arrangement designed to catch someone in a more general sense; a snare.
4. A trick or arrangement designed to catch someone in a more general sense; a snare.
5. A trick or arrangement designed to catch someone in a more general sense; a snare.
6. An exception generated by the processor or by an external event.
7. Any device used to hold and suddenly release an object.
8. Any device used to hold and suddenly release an object.
9. Any device used to hold and suddenly release an object.
10. A bend, sag, or other device in a waste-pipe arranged so that the liquid contents form a seal which prevents the escape of noxious gases, but permits the flow of liquids.
11. A bend, sag, or other device in a waste-pipe arranged so that the liquid contents form a seal which prevents the escape of noxious gases, but permits the flow of liquids.
12. A wooden instrument shaped somewhat like a shoe, used in the game of trapball.
13. A wooden instrument shaped somewhat like a shoe, used in the game of trapball.
14. A vehicle, residential building, or sidewalk corner where drugs are manufactured, packaged, or sold.
15. A vehicle, residential building, or sidewalk corner where drugs are manufactured, packaged, or sold.
16. A vehicle, residential building, or sidewalk corner where drugs are manufactured, packaged, or sold.
17. A successful landing on an aircraft carrier using the carrier's arresting gear.
18. A light two-wheeled carriage with springs.
19. A person's mouth.
20. Synonym of vagina.
21. A policeman.
22. Belongings.
23. A cubicle (in a public toilet).
24. Trapshooting.
25. A mining license inspector during the Australian gold rush.
26. The money earned by a prostitute for a pimp.

## Etymology
From Middle English trappe, from Old English træppe, treppe (“trap, snare”) (also in betræppan (“to trap”)) from Proto-West Germanic *trappjā (“trap, snare”), from Proto-West Germanic *trappjan (“to step”), from Proto-Germanic *trapjaną (“to tread, stamp”), from Proto-Indo-European *drebʰ- (“to step, trip, trample”).
Cognate with Dutch trap (“step, stair”), German Low German Trapp (“step, stair”). Akin also to West Frisian traap (“stepping, treading, stairway”), German Treppe (“step, stair”), Old English træppan (“to step, tread”). Connection to "step" is "that upon which one steps". French trappe and Spanish trampa are ultimately borrowings from Germanic.

## Easily confused with
- **try** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/trap-vs-try)
- **tri** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/trap-vs-tri)
- **TSA** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/trap-vs-tsa)
- **tre** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/trap-vs-tre)
- **tru** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/trap-vs-tru)
- **TRP** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/trap-vs-trp)
- **TWA** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/trap-vs-twa)
- **twp** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/trap-vs-twp)
- **TTP** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/trap-vs-ttp)
- **true** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/trap-vs-true)
- **trip** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/trap-vs-trip)
- **tree** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/trap-vs-tree)
- **trek** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/trap-vs-trek)
- **Troy** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/trap-vs-troy)
- **trio** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/trap-vs-trio)
- **trim** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/trap-vs-trim)
- **tray** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/trap-vs-tray)
- **Trey** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/trap-vs-trey)
- **twat** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/trap-vs-twat)
- **trot** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/trap-vs-trot)

## Common misspellings (5)
`rtap`, `trapp`, `trpa`, `trrap`, `ttrap`

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