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
Relevance
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
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.
Recent Examples of 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
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
-
The plant specializes in high-grade demolition explosives and military products, including mines.—
Amanda Castro,
MSNBC Newsweek,
10 Oct. 2025
-
Islamist insurgents have since May attacked Malian and foreign-owned businesses, including cement factories, sugar factories, and mines.—
Preeti Jha,
semafor.com,
10 Oct. 2025
Noun
-
Biden's Interior Department in 2024 had cited risks to caribou and fish populations that dozens of native communities rely on for subsistence.—
Reuters,
USA Today,
7 Oct. 2025
-
Experts and business owners told with regards to the retail sector that raising prices to cope with long-term inflationary trends and recent pressures is a difficult balancing act—that while potentially necessary to protect profitability, risks alienating increasingly budget-conscious consumers.—
Hugh Cameron,
MSNBC Newsweek,
7 Oct. 2025
Noun
-
There are different ways to demine territory, from using dogs to sniff out land mines to sappers—combat engineers focusing on clearing mines—manually working their way through an area, or operators remotely controlling large demining machines.—
Ellie Cook,
MSNBC Newsweek,
28 Aug. 2025
-
The ninth inning revealed other land mines.—
Fabian Ardaya,
New York Times,
7 Aug. 2025
Noun
-
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
-
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
-
However, there remain several potential snags.—
Kathryn Palmer,
USA Today,
4 Oct. 2025
-
Developers have yet to break ground, while people familiar with the matter in the UAE, Nairobi, and Washington catalog problems with the project, extending from grand geopolitics to quotidian financial snags.—
Alexis Akwagyiram,
semafor.com,
22 Sep. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Booby traps.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/booby%20traps. Accessed 13 Oct. 2025.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share