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
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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
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Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of booby traps
David Hambling, Forbes.com, 2 Sep. 2025
Noun
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
Recent Examples of Synonyms for booby traps
Noun
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Now, the decimation of the environment and indigenous people across the world, from the palm oil plantations of Indonesia to the cobalt mines of the Democratic Republic of Congo, has reached the shores of Great Nicobar.—
M. Rajshekhar,
Time,
11 Sep. 2025
-
The silver mines have recently been nationalized, but obviously there’s a wealth disparity, there are two cultures living side by side and misunderstanding each other.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
11 Sep. 2025
Noun
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Companies see the benefits but also understand the real risks of breaching customer trust, which can include severe reputational and business damage.—
Bernard Marr,
Forbes.com,
17 Sep. 2025
-
The material also strongly repelled chloride ions, cutting corrosion risks.—
Neetika Walter,
Interesting Engineering,
17 Sep. 2025
Noun
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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
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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
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That could provide a backup plan if the state charges hit snags, said Cassell, echoing another famous Utah case.—
Nick Penzenstadler,
USA Today,
16 Sep. 2025
-
Legal challenges are likely, and procedural snags already delayed the Biden-era effort.—
Robert Hoban,
Forbes.com,
15 Sep. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Booby traps.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/booby%20traps. Accessed 18 Sep. 2025.
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