: quick, incisive
a steel-trap mind

Examples of steel-trap in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Hidden beneath a steel-trap door on the Upper West Side of Manhattan, 36 steps below the surface, is one of the system’s oldest remaining substations. New York Times, 20 Apr. 2026 My steel-trap mind was at work again. Laird Borrelli-Persson, Vogue, 21 Dec. 2025 Haroutunian, like Netflix awards czar Lisa Taback, has a steel-trap mind that tracks who has seen what, never forgets a face, and knows who is missing. Anne Thompson, IndieWire, 10 Dec. 2025 Despite this, Kweller soldiered forward with the same mix of optimism, aplomb, and steel-trap conviction that powers him to this day. Jayson Greene, Vulture, 30 May 2025 Or underestimating her steel-trap memory and grasp on history. Bob Gendron, Chicago Tribune, 16 May 2025 Maro, Marina's grandmother, had a steel-trap mind for the compendium of numbers that have defined shipping since the 17th century. Virginia Heffernan, WIRED, 14 Feb. 2024

Word History

First Known Use

1945, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of steel-trap was in 1945

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Cite this Entry

“Steel-trap.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/steel-trap. Accessed 2 Jul. 2026.

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