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
Chris Nashawaty, Entertainment Weekly, 13 June 2026
Picture Indiana Jones swapping his fedora for a Han dynasty helmet, dodging booby traps in dusty Chinese tombs.
—Urnesha Bhattacherjee, Encyclopedia Britannica, 27 Apr. 2026
In the days leading up to the attack, Ghazali allegedly rigged his truck with booby traps, fireworks, explosives, and large amounts of gasoline.
—Bonny Chu, FOXNews.com, 30 Mar. 2026
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
While claims of booby traps and rivers of mercury would likely make anyone think twice about entering the tomb, this is not the main barrier to full excavation.
—Christopher McFadden, Interesting Engineering, 25 Dec. 2025
In the original Home Alone, Kevin is forced to defend him home from two bumbling burglars by setting various booby traps around the house.
—Mitchell Peters, Billboard, 21 Dec. 2025
Noun
The gauntlet of booby traps culminating in the giant boulder that kick off Raiders is my single favorite opening sequence in a movie ever.
—Chris Nashawaty, Entertainment Weekly, 13 June 2026
Picture Indiana Jones swapping his fedora for a Han dynasty helmet, dodging booby traps in dusty Chinese tombs.
—Urnesha Bhattacherjee, Encyclopedia Britannica, 27 Apr. 2026
In the days leading up to the attack, Ghazali allegedly rigged his truck with booby traps, fireworks, explosives, and large amounts of gasoline.
—Bonny Chu, FOXNews.com, 30 Mar. 2026
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
While claims of booby traps and rivers of mercury would likely make anyone think twice about entering the tomb, this is not the main barrier to full excavation.
—Christopher McFadden, Interesting Engineering, 25 Dec. 2025
In the original Home Alone, Kevin is forced to defend him home from two bumbling burglars by setting various booby traps around the house.
—Mitchell Peters, Billboard, 21 Dec. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for booby traps
Noun
-
Lumber was in high demand for fueling iron furnaces and providing timber framing for local coal mines and for shipbuilding.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
10 June 2026
-
In Johannesburg, violent gangs are involved in illicit mining in and around a city that has large gold reserves and many mines that have been abandoned by companies.—
CBS News,
CBS News,
10 June 2026
Noun
-
More than 83% of parents who responded said risks from social media outweighed benefits, while 90% backed a minimum age of 16 to access social media platforms.—
Reuters,
CNN Money,
15 June 2026
-
The family additionally alleges that Roblox failed to adequately disclose the risks children face on the platform.—
Toria Sheffield,
PEOPLE,
14 June 2026
Noun
-
Tighter oversight of explosives The task force also called for tighter controls on the importation and regulation of fireworks and explosive materials.—
Daniel Lempres,
Sacbee.com,
28 Jan. 2026
Noun
-
The younger Modrić’s childhood home in the village of Jasenice was abandoned and remains so to this day, with signs warning visitors of land mines in the area.—
Sanat Pai Raikar,
Encyclopedia Britannica,
2 June 2026
-
The zombie commission was one of the final land mines Adams left behind for his successor.—
Josephine Stratman,
New York Daily News,
28 May 2026
Noun
-
Legal glitches and hitches will eventually be found when AI laws are passed without suitable scrutiny and analysis.—
Lance Eliot,
Forbes.com,
30 May 2026
-
The incidents involving contact with chains, trailer hitches, poles, and curbs indicate recurring limitations in detecting smaller or irregular obstacles, especially during reversing maneuvers.—
Bojan Stojkovski,
Interesting Engineering,
16 May 2026
Noun
-
As a whole, this laptop can handle everyday tasks like browsing and run a few productivity programs at once without software snags.—
Kelsey Fogarty,
PC Magazine,
13 June 2026
-
The gold plates effortlessly glided through both my real hair and the clip-ins, straightening them evenly without any snags.—
Essence Wiley,
InStyle,
24 May 2026
Cite this Entry
“Booby traps.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/booby%20traps. Accessed 16 Jun. 2026.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
