booby-trap 1 of 2

as in to attack
to place hidden explosive devices in or under booby-trapped the field bordering the army's camp

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booby trap

2 of 2

noun

1
as in mine
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 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

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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-trap
Noun
Jun-ho’s drone picks up on a door on the ground that turns out to be a booby trap that kills one person and injures another. Jennifer Zhan, Vulture, 26 Dec. 2024 And that does not even consider the likelihood of a beacon which is also a booby trap. David Hambling, Forbes, 29 Nov. 2024 From guns to booby traps, Dutch leads the charge to take down the gnarly, terrifying looking alien. Lauren Brown West-Rosenthal, Parents, 28 Nov. 2024 Wary of booby traps and with evening closing in, the troops did not enter the building until the next day. James MacKenzie, Reuters, 18 Oct. 2024 See All Example Sentences for booby-trap
Recent Examples of Synonyms for booby-trap
Verb
  • Boone acknowledged that location will be key for Stroman, who can no longer attack hitters head-on at this stage of his career.
    Gary Phillips, New York Daily News, 28 June 2025
  • The wild and ugly scenes saw rioters attack law enforcement with rocks and Molotov cocktails while others burned vehicles and other property.
    Michael Dorgan, FOXNews.com, 28 June 2025
Noun
  • Today, Greenland has no functioning rare earth mines.
    Charlie Campbell, Time, 17 June 2025
  • That month, a large tin mine based in North Kivu (and majority owned, at the time, by the U.S.- and British-based energy investment firm Denham Capital) shuttered its operations as the M23 closed in on the area.
    Joshua Z. Walker, Foreign Affairs, 17 June 2025
Noun
  • Safety-wise, last year’s Fanatics Fest went off mostly without a hitch.
    Pat Leonard, New York Daily News, 19 June 2025
  • The party ended up going off without a hitch, as the pictures Morello shared with Newsweek show.
    Jack Beresford, MSNBC Newsweek, 17 June 2025
Verb
  • But the Israel-Iran conflict − and Trump's decision to bomb three Iranian nuclear sites − has scrambled the high-stakes meeting as world leaders search for an endgame to the 12-day air war that's killed hundreds of people in Iran and dozens in Israel.
    Francesca Chambers, USA Today, 25 June 2025
  • But those threats were beaten back in the last few years of war, and twice last year, Israel got practice rounds bombing Iran following Iranian missile fire.
    Daniel Estrin, NPR, 25 June 2025
Noun
  • The use of land mines by the combatants poses a constant danger.
    Diane Cole, NPR, 19 June 2025
  • Experts estimate that tens of thousands of land mines remain buried across Syria, particularly in former front-line regions such as rural Idlib.
    Ghaith Alsayed and Sally Abou Aljoud, Los Angeles Times, 21 Apr. 2025
Verb
  • If not, neighbors, friends, or anyone nearby needs to know that they could be trapped.
    Carolyn Rosenblatt, Forbes.com, 20 June 2025
  • If you are trapped by moving water, move to the highest possible point and call 911 if possible.
    NC Weather Bot, Charlotte Observer, 19 June 2025
Noun
  • Lower birth weights place babies at a greater risk of health problems, from immediate issues like low oxygen levels to long-term difficulties that range from metabolic to cognitive to neurodevelopment impairments, per the study.
    Sharon Udasin, The Hill, 23 June 2025
  • But Haliburton was playing with a strained calf, and there was more risk for something like this to happen.
    Matt Levine, MSNBC Newsweek, 23 June 2025
Noun
  • But despite his popularity in the heavily Democratic state, Newsom’s governorship has continued to hit snags.
    Solcyré Burga, Time, 12 June 2025
  • But both hit snags in May as fiscal reality set in.
    Teri Sforza, Oc Register, 9 June 2025

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Cite this Entry

“Booby-trap.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/booby-trap. Accessed 1 Jul. 2025.

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