1
as in mines
a usually concealed explosive device designed to go off when disturbed
luckily, the bomb squad didn't find any booby traps
Synonyms & Similar Words
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2
as in risks
a danger or difficulty that is hidden or not easily recognized
he noticed the booby trap in the interviewer's question just a little too late
Synonyms & Similar Words
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of booby traps
Eliana Dockterman, Time, 16 Oct. 2025
For a novice member of the field, the coolest details of the event doubled as booby traps.
—Gabby Herzig, New York Times, 9 Oct. 2025
Specialized teams were called to the scene to defuse booby traps in the residential building, city police said.
—CNN Money, 1 Oct. 2025
Specialized teams were called to the scene to defuse booby traps in the building, police said.
—FOXNews.com, 1 Oct. 2025
These may show up in Ukraine before long, perhaps walking ahead of patrols to find booby traps and clear routes through minefields, or taking bullets to expose enemy firing position.
—David Hambling, Forbes.com, 2 Sep. 2025
Colonial militias attempted periodic raids, but historical records report that they were met with rugged terrain, booby traps and counterattacks.
—Justin Dunnavant, The Conversation, 27 Aug. 2025
Noun
The Duffers add that one of the key inspirations for this season is Home Alone—specifically the booby traps.
—Eliana Dockterman, Time, 16 Oct. 2025
For a novice member of the field, the coolest details of the event doubled as booby traps.
—Gabby Herzig, New York Times, 9 Oct. 2025
Specialized teams were called to the scene to defuse booby traps in the residential building, city police said.
—CNN Money, 1 Oct. 2025
Specialized teams were called to the scene to defuse booby traps in the building, police said.
—FOXNews.com, 1 Oct. 2025
These may show up in Ukraine before long, perhaps walking ahead of patrols to find booby traps and clear routes through minefields, or taking bullets to expose enemy firing position.
—David Hambling, Forbes.com, 2 Sep. 2025
Colonial militias attempted periodic raids, but historical records report that they were met with rugged terrain, booby traps and counterattacks.
—Justin Dunnavant, The Conversation, 27 Aug. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for booby traps
Noun
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The tests — with buses driven in underground mines to strip away external signals — were conducted both on brand-new Yutong buses and on three-year old vehicles from Dutch bus manufacturer VDL, the company said.—
Emma Burleigh,
Fortune,
6 Nov. 2025
-
The technology could transform how search-and-rescue robots navigate collapsed mines or disaster sites, where speed and accuracy can make the difference between life and death.—
Aamir Khollam,
Interesting Engineering,
5 Nov. 2025
Noun
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And the answer to the various risks and harms of AI is public control of AI objectives through democratic means.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
5 Nov. 2025
-
But with stocks trading at historically expensive levels, there are risks abound.—
John Towfighi,
CNN Money,
4 Nov. 2025
Noun
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During the dictatorships after World War II, the natural barrier of the Accursed Mountains was fortified, set about with land mines, and patrolled, effectively isolating the stronghold of Albania from the rest of the world.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
22 Oct. 2025
-
If Hamas fails to disarm, that will give Netanyahu an excuse to restart the war and avoid all the political land mines that the next phases present him.—
Thomas L. Friedman,
Mercury News,
16 Oct. 2025
Noun
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The two-door, three-person Can-Am Defender Limited and the four-door, six-person Defender Max Limited have 82-horsepower engines, power steering, tow hitches with a 2,500-pound towing capacity, winches, air conditioning and heating, a full hard roof and a three-position tilt-up glass windshield.—
Steve Waters,
Miami Herald,
12 Sep. 2025
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My connection often improved a few minutes later, but those drops could result in stuttering in games, hitches in streaming, and slow file downloads.—
PC Magazine,
PC Magazine,
3 Sep. 2025
Noun
-
Labor is limited, supply chains hit snags, investment waxes and wanes—meaning that even if these data centers are built at the tremendous scale desired by Altman and his competitors, construction and energy constraints may keep the boom from growing too irresponsibly.—
Matteo Wong,
The Atlantic,
30 Oct. 2025
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The production designer also used her own old family photos to ensure there wouldn’t be any snags in copyright clearance and licensing.—
Mara Reinstein,
Architectural Digest,
30 Oct. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Booby traps.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/booby%20traps. Accessed 9 Nov. 2025.
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