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as in hitch
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-trap
Richard Lawson, HollywoodReporter, 3 Sep. 2019
Graham Womack, Sacbee.com, 27 Jan. 2026
When two bumbling thieves (Joe Pesci and Daniel Stern) attempt to rob his home, Kevin begins an elaborately violent, slapstick battle of wits via booby traps involving a tarantula, paint buckets, and flamethrowers.
—Chris Snellgrove, Entertainment Weekly, 26 Dec. 2025
See All Example Sentences for booby-trap
Verb
So what is a modernist like Mayer, who made such cool craft of ancient stuff 20 years ago with Spring Awakening, to do with something as hokey and booby-trapped as Chess?
—Richard Lawson, HollywoodReporter, 3 Sep. 2019
Noun
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
When two bumbling thieves (Joe Pesci and Daniel Stern) attempt to rob his home, Kevin begins an elaborately violent, slapstick battle of wits via booby traps involving a tarantula, paint buckets, and flamethrowers.
—Chris Snellgrove, Entertainment Weekly, 26 Dec. 2025
See All Example Sentences for booby-trap
Recent Examples of Synonyms for booby-trap
Verb
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Rather than attacking all rapidly growing cells, as chemotherapy does, the drug targets a key cancer-driving pathway known as KRAS, which is involved in more than 90% of pancreatic tumors.—
Luzdelia Caballero,
CBS News,
5 June 2026
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Akindahunsi is accused of attacking several women the night of May 28.—
Summer Lin,
Los Angeles Times,
4 June 2026
Noun
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Niobium, tantalum, tungsten, and uranium were also added to the list of minerals in the higher 10% tax bracket, according to a video posted on the mines ministry’s X account.—
semafor.com,
semafor.com,
1 June 2026
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Last month, the IRGC launched attacks into the Gulf and attempted to lay new underwater mines.—
Jason Ma,
Fortune,
1 June 2026
Noun
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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
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But the gathering goes off without a hitch, and Whitaker, 27, is ready to spill on everything she’s currently obsessed with.—
Jake Henry Smith,
Glamour,
29 May 2026
Verb
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The year was anything but easy for Divac, though, with NATO beginning to bomb his native Serbia late in the season.—
Graham Womack,
Sacbee.com,
2 June 2026
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Oil prices rose around 3% after the Pentagon said the United States bombed Iranian military sites, retaliation for Tehran's shooting down of an American drone.—
ABC News,
ABC News,
1 June 2026
Noun
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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
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Politics was the focus of the discussion, a topic that too often comes with land mines when two opposing views are on display.—
Denise Crosby,
Chicago Tribune,
6 May 2026
Verb
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Shakespeare’s comedies especially understand the joy of watching people get trapped in schemes and plots well beyond their control.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
2 June 2026
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Seven men in search of gold were trapped in the mazelike cave network in Xaisomboun province more than a week ago when heavy rain and flash flooding blocked the only entrance.—
Janis Mackey Frayer,
NBC news,
1 June 2026
Noun
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The conflict in the Middle East has posed a severe risk to the Indian economy, as energy supply disruptions have inflated the country's import bill, piling pressure on the rupee that has already been hit by record foreign investor outflows.—
Priyanka Salve,
CNBC,
5 June 2026
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The resulting harm and risks fall on everyone whose lives are shaped by AI systems.—
Michael Gregory,
The Conversation,
4 June 2026
Noun
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But the plan to send US citizens to Kenya has hit a snag, and officials are still scrambling to find other countries that might take them.—
Dan Goodin,
ArsTechnica,
29 May 2026
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Amazon's satellite ambitions hit a potential snag after Blue Origin's New Glenn rocket exploded Thursday night during a launch test at Cape Canaveral, Florida.—
Paulina Likos,Kevin Stankiewicz,
CNBC,
29 May 2026
Cite this Entry
“Booby-trap.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/booby-trap. Accessed 5 Jun. 2026.
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