trip wire
noun
1
: a low-placed concealed wire used especially in warfare to trip an enemy or trespasser and usually to trigger an alarm or explosive device when moved
2
: something (such as a small military force) intended to function like a trip wire (as to set a larger military force in motion)
Examples of trip wire in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
The subject may have connected a trip wire to one of the hostages' legs.
—
Madison E. Goldberg, PEOPLE, 3 June 2026
Nobel laureate Thomas Schelling described the logic in 1966: Even a small deployment in West Berlin served as a trip wire, ensuring that Soviet incursions would trigger a much larger military response from the U.S. and its European allies.
—Carla Martinez MacHain, The Conversation, 13 May 2026
Quantum entanglement contains something of a trip wire.
—Matt Von Hippel, Quanta Magazine, 17 Apr. 2026
With Partridge taking over and Notre Dame adding Brewu, Keeley and Gray through the transfer portal, a position group that felt like a trip wire one month ago now looks more like a launching pad.
—Pete Sampson, New York Times, 19 Feb. 2026
See All Example Sentences for trip wire
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Madison E. Goldberg, PEOPLE, 3 June 2026
Nobel laureate Thomas Schelling described the logic in 1966: Even a small deployment in West Berlin served as a trip wire, ensuring that Soviet incursions would trigger a much larger military response from the U.S. and its European allies.
—Carla Martinez MacHain, The Conversation, 13 May 2026
Quantum entanglement contains something of a trip wire.
—Matt Von Hippel, Quanta Magazine, 17 Apr. 2026
With Partridge taking over and Notre Dame adding Brewu, Keeley and Gray through the transfer portal, a position group that felt like a trip wire one month ago now looks more like a launching pad.
—Pete Sampson, New York Times, 19 Feb. 2026
See All Example Sentences for trip wire
Cite this Entry
“Trip wire.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/trip%20wire. Accessed 13 Jun. 2026.
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