TRAPS Synonyms: 136 Similar and Opposite Words

traps 1 of 2

noun

Definition of traps

plural of trap

as in ambushes

a device or scheme for capturing another by surprise undercover agents devised a trap to catch the counterfeiters a bear trap

Synonyms & Similar Words

Relevance

as in ambushments

a setup in which hidden attackers lie in wait an overland route to the Far East that was once notorious for the many robbers who laid traps for unsuspecting wayfarers

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as in tangles

something that catches and holds the promotion is really just a trap to keep her from taking a new job elsewhere

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as in mouths

slang the opening through which food passes into the body of an animal shut your trap before someone belts you one!

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traps

2 of 2

verb

present tense third-person singular of trap

as in snares

to catch or hold as if in a net an ambitious young man who was now trapped in a series of shady business deals

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms

as in grabs

to take physical control or possession of (something) suddenly or forcibly finally trapped the annoying fly in the palm of his hand

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms

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 traps

Noun

Locking the lid traps excess steam inside, altering how the appliance functions. — Jessica Safavimehr, Southern Living, 19 Sep. 2026 In July, airport officials set traps around the property to contain the malaria outbreak, The Sun reported. — Louis Casiano, FOXNews.com, 18 Sep. 2026 As water flows through, the media traps or neutralizes certain contaminants before the water reaches you. — Ryan Brennan, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 16 Sep. 2026 Commercial anglers are required to have the colors of the buoys attached to their traps and displayed on their vessels visible from the water and air. — David Goodhue, Miami Herald, 16 Sep. 2026 Mosquito traps in several counties, including Fulton, Chatham and DeKalb, have tested positive for the virus, but this is the first deadly case of 2026. — Emily McLeod, CBS News, 16 Sep. 2026 Current water surveying techniques do not reach below the surface more than a few meters, while the rubble-like rocks of the surface regolith typically extend tens of meters down and may contain water in the cold traps. — Martin Elvis, Space.com, 14 Sep. 2026 Governments in the region launched a massive response, including traps, sniffer dogs, drone surveillance and most importantly, sterile flies. — Jen Christensen, CNN Money, 7 Sep. 2026 The direct heat helps re-crisp the bottom of the crust, while the lid traps heat, so the cheese and toppings warm through without the crust becoming excessively dry. — Daryl Austin, USA Today, 6 Sep. 2026

Verb

When a rockslide traps them on a narrow plank 4,000 feet up, Jax must face her fears to survive. — Anthony D'alessandro, Deadline, 5 Sep. 2026 But the heat dome, an area of high pressure that traps warm air beneath it, isn’t just sending temperatures soaring. — Tyler Ory, CNN Money, 30 Aug. 2026 Nestling them together traps enough steam to help the interiors soften before the potatoes shrink slightly, giving them room to brown. — Rick Martinez, Bon Appetit Magazine, 28 Aug. 2026 The state’s score was hurt by its poor air quality, generally considered the worst in the nation due to its mountain range which traps pollution. — Vince Basada, Sacbee.com, 28 Aug. 2026 This approach traps companies in incremental optimization, which is building a better version of what already exists instead of building genuinely new things that customers could not have asked for yet. — Nataliya Andreychuk, Forbes.com, 18 Aug. 2026 The cave was used to film scenes with Polyphemus, the Cyclops who traps Odysseus and his crew in his cave before devouring several of the men. — Andrea Margolis, FOXNews.com, 9 Aug. 2026 Lightly mist the floor rather than pouring or soaking, and follow with a microfiber mop that traps dirt without leaving excess moisture behind. — Martha Stewart, 8 Aug. 2026 As each bubble traps more gas, its buoyancy increases until the bubble floats to the surface. — Encyclopedia Britannica, 5 Aug. 2026

Recent Examples of Synonyms for traps

Noun

Social Media Capture The underlying tactic is not new, with both Russian and Ukrainian forces having previously used armed FPV drones to conduct roadside ambushes.

— Vikram Mittal, Forbes.com, 22 Aug. 2026
Stassi is no stranger to an ambush; one of her most iconic Vanderpump Rules scenes remains one of the best ambushes reality TV’s ever seen.

— Caroline Framke, Vulture, 7 Aug. 2026

Definition of ambushes

Noun

Zelenskyy said Ukrainian special forces struck the Kuibyshev oil refinery in Samara, southeast of Moscow, and another refinery in the neighboring Bashkortostan region in overnight attacks.

— Arkansas Online, Arkansas Online, 23 Sep. 2026
In the days after the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, makeshift memorials started to appear around the perimeter of Ground Zero and at sites around the world associated with the United States.

— Hari Kunzru, Harpers Magazine, 22 Sep. 2026

Definition of attacks

Noun

Sticky beta-amyloid can build into brain-clogging plaque over decades, eventually spurring neuron-killing tau tangles that lead to symptoms.

— Lauran Neergaard, Los Angeles Times, 15 Sep. 2026
Sazan is a rugged place—strewn with rocks and tangles of trees, populated by a large colony of rats, and studded with bunkers built by the Marxist dictator Enver Hoxha to defend against an imaginary invasion.

— Dexter Filkins, New Yorker, 14 Sep. 2026

Definition of tangles

Noun

The incident Sunday involved the top fashion executive forcibly restraining two employees of People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals and putting his hands over their mouths at the runway show for Cos, a brand owned by H&M.

— CNN Money, CNN Money, 19 Sep. 2026
The lingerers brought their dirty dishes to the bus tub, wiped their mouths one last time with a napkin, and waved to Cleo, their faces saying, Nice job!

— Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 18 Sep. 2026

Definition of mouths

Verb

The hallmarks of the Navy Blue sound are present—barely-there snares keeping time in the distance, string samples melting into reflective puddles, overtones from resonant piano lines.

— Dash Lewis, Pitchfork, 10 June 2026
Hair snares use tape and wire to collect DNA and other data by collecting a sample of wild animal hair when creatures pass by, according to Popular Science.

— Gabrielle Rockson, PEOPLE, 28 Jan. 2026

Definition of snares

Verb

Ryan opens it, grabs a Diet Coke and asks one of his assistants to summon a cup of ice.

— Daniel Libit, Sportico.com, 25 Sep. 2026
Paramount grabs a distribution fee and recovers its marketing and P&A costs from ticket sales before sharing the remaining profits with Miramax.

— Anne Thompson, IndieWire, 24 Sep. 2026

Definition of grabs

Noun

But if that person were, say, a lawyer who could earn $500 per hour, then donating three hours’ worth of wages to a charity that bought anti-malarial bed nets could save several hundred people’s lives every week.

— Beatrice Nolan, Fortune, 23 Sep. 2026
The list includes two Par nets that already had been put on the block twice, BET (and its various sub-channels) and VH1, as well as Comedy Central, with the company’s flagships MTV and Nickelodeon out of danger.

— Nellie Andreeva, Deadline, 21 Sep. 2026