booby trap
noun
1
: a trap for the unwary or unsuspecting : pitfall
2
: a concealed explosive device contrived to go off when some harmless-looking object is touched
Examples of booby trap in a Sentence
Someone had rigged a booby trap that blew up the car when the engine was started.
We set a booby trap by balancing a bucket of water on top of the door so that it would fall on him when he came in.
Recent Examples on the Web
The movie’s biggest laughs come from Kevin’s hijinks, which involve setting up complex booby traps to fend off a pair of burglars targeting his family’s home.
—
Shirley Li, The Atlantic, 30 Jan. 2026
Their 2025-26 season has been littered with injury landmines and other booby traps hidden in the walls of Ball Arena.
—Bennett Durando, Denver Post, 30 Jan. 2026
Deputies said during the initial call that neighbors had reported gunshots being fired and that a second caller, who claimed to have fired the gun, had placed booby traps around a home in the Kavala Ranch development.
—Graham Womack, Sacbee.com, 27 Jan. 2026
When two bumbling thieves (Joe Pesci and Daniel Stern) attempt to rob his home, Kevin begins an elaborately violent, slapstick battle of wits via booby traps involving a tarantula, paint buckets, and flamethrowers.
—Chris Snellgrove, Entertainment Weekly, 26 Dec. 2025
See All Example Sentences for booby trap
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Shirley Li, The Atlantic, 30 Jan. 2026
Their 2025-26 season has been littered with injury landmines and other booby traps hidden in the walls of Ball Arena.
—Bennett Durando, Denver Post, 30 Jan. 2026
Deputies said during the initial call that neighbors had reported gunshots being fired and that a second caller, who claimed to have fired the gun, had placed booby traps around a home in the Kavala Ranch development.
—Graham Womack, Sacbee.com, 27 Jan. 2026
When two bumbling thieves (Joe Pesci and Daniel Stern) attempt to rob his home, Kevin begins an elaborately violent, slapstick battle of wits via booby traps involving a tarantula, paint buckets, and flamethrowers.
—Chris Snellgrove, Entertainment Weekly, 26 Dec. 2025
See All Example Sentences for booby trap
Cite this Entry
“Booby trap.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/booby%20trap. Accessed 8 Feb. 2026.
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