a contrivance used for catching game or other animals, as a mechanical device that springs shut suddenly.
2.
any device, stratagem, trick, or the like for catching a person unawares.
3.
any of various devices for removing undesirable substances from a moving fluid, vapor, etc., as water from steam or cinders from coal gas.
4.
Also called air trap.an arrangement in a pipe, as a double curve or a U-shaped section, in which liquid remains and forms a seal for preventing the passage or escape of air or of gases through the pipe from behind or below.
5.
traps, the percussion instruments of a jazz or dance band.
6.
Trapshooting,Skeet. a device for hurling clay pigeons into the air.
7.
the piece of wood, shaped somewhat like a shoe hollowed at the heel, and moving on a pivot, used in playing the game of trapball.
Also called mousetrap, trap play.Football. a play in which a defensive player, usually a guard or tackle, is allowed by the team on offense to cross the line of scrimmage into the backfield and is then blocked out from the side, thereby letting the ball-carrier run through the opening in the line.
12.
Slang. mouth: Keep your trap shut.
13.
Chiefly British. a carriage, esp. a light, two-wheeled one.
–verb (used with object)
14.
to catch in a trap; ensnare: to trap foxes.
15.
to catch by stratagem, artifice, or trickery.
16.
to furnish or set with traps.
17.
to provide (a drain or the like) with a trap.
18.
to stop and hold by a trap, as air in a pipe.
19.
Sports. to catch (a ball) as it rises after having just hit the ground.
20.
Football. to execute a trap against (a defensive player).
–verb (used without object)
21.
to set traps for game: He was busy trapping.
22.
to engage in the business of trapping animals for their furs.
23.
Trapshooting,Skeet. to work the trap.
[Origin: bef. 1000; ME trappe (n.), trappen (v.), OE træppe (n.), c. MD trappe (D trap) trap, step, staircase; akin to OE treppan to tread, G Treppe staircase]
—Related forms
traplike, adjective
—Synonyms 1, 2. Trap, pitfall, snare apply to literal or figurative contrivances for deceiving and catching animals or people. Literally, a trap is a mechanical contrivance for catching animals, the main feature usually being a spring: a trap baited with cheese for mice. Figuratively, trap suggests the scheme of one person to take another by surprise and thereby gain an advantage: a trap for the unwary. A pitfall is (usually) a concealed pit arranged for the capture of large animals or of people who may fall into it; figuratively, it is any concealed danger, error, or source of disaster: to avoid the pitfalls of life. A snare is a device for entangling birds, rabbits, etc., with intent to capture; figuratively, it implies enticement and inveiglement: the temptress' snare.
A contrivance for catching and holding animals, as a concealed pit or a clamplike device that springs shut suddenly.
A stratagem for catching or tricking an unwary person.
A confining or undesirable circumstance from which escape or relief is difficult: fell into poverty's trap.
A device for sealing a passage against the escape of gases, especially a U-shaped or S-shaped bend in a drainpipe that prevents the return flow of sewer gas by means of a water barrier.
Sports
A device that hurls clay pigeons into the air in trapshooting.
A land hazard or bunker on a golf course; a sand trap.
traps A measured length of roadway over which electronic timers register the speed of a racing vehicle, such as a dragster.
A defensive strategy or play, as in basketball or hockey, in which two or more defenders converge on an offensive player shortly after the player gains possession of the ball or puck.
A defensive strategy or play, as in basketball or hockey, in which two or more defenders converge on an offensive player shortly after the player gains possession of the ball or puck.
The act of trapping a soccer ball.
Football A running play in which the ball carrier advances through a hole in the defensive line created by allowing a defensive lineman to penetrate the backfield.
A light two-wheeled carriage with springs.
A trapdoor.
trapsMusic Percussion instruments, such as snare drums and cymbals, especially in a jazz band.
Slang The human mouth.
v.
trapped, trap·ping, traps
v.
tr.
To catch in a trap; ensnare. See Synonyms at catch.
To prevent from escaping or getting free: was trapped in the locked attic.
To deceive or trick by mans of a scheme or plan.
To seal off (gases) by a trap.
To furnish with traps or a trap.
Sports
To catch (a ball) immediately after it has hit the ground.
To gain control of (a moving soccer ball) by allowing it to hit and bounce off a part of the body other than the arm or hand.
A woven fabric, especially one on a loom or just removed from it.
The structural part of cloth.
A latticed or woven structure: A web of palm branches formed the roof of the hut.
A structure of delicate, threadlike filaments characteristically spun by spiders or certain insect larvae.
Something intricately contrived, especially something that ensnares or entangles: caught in a web of lies.
A complex, interconnected structure or arrangement: a web of telephone wires.
often Web The World Wide Web.
A radio or television network.
A membrane or fold of skin connecting the toes, as of certain amphibians, birds, and mammals.
The barbs on each side of the shaft of a bird's feather; a vane.
Baseball A piece of leather or leather mesh that fills the space between the thumb and forefinger of a baseball glove. Also called trap1, webbing.
Architecture A space or compartment between the ribs or groins of a vault. Also called cell.
A metal sheet or plate connecting the heavier sections, ribs, or flanges of a structural element.
A thin metal plate or strip, as the bit of a key or the blade of a saw.
A large continuous roll of paper, such as newsprint, either in the process of manufacture or as it is fed into a web press.
tr.v.
webbed, web·bing, webs
To provide with a web.
To cover or envelop with a web.
To ensnare in a web.
[Middle English, from Old English; see webh- in Indo-European roots.]
Usage Note: The word Web is usually capitalized when referring to the World Wide Web: Many sites on the Web have information about used cars. In this use, however, the word is increasingly found lowercase, and this usage may become dominant. See Usage Note at website.
late O.E. træppe "snare, trap," from P.Gmc. *trap- (cf. M.Du. trappe "trap, snare"), related to Gmc. words for "stair, step, tread" (cf. M.Du., M.L.G. trappe, treppe, Ger. Treppe "step, stair"). Probably connected to O.Fr. trape, Sp. trampa "trap, pit, snare," but the exact relationship is uncertain. The connecting notion seems to be "that on which an animal steps." Sense of "deceitful practice, trickery" is first recorded 1681. Sense in speed trap recorded from 1906. Slang meaning "mouth" is from 1776. The verb is attested from 1393 (O.E. had betræppan); trap door is first attested c.1374. Trapper "one who traps animals" (for fur, etc.) is recorded from 1768.
trap 1. A program interrupt, usually an interrupt caused by some exceptional situation in the user program. In most cases, the OS performs some action, then returns control to the program. 2. To cause a trap. "These instructions trap to the monitor." Also used transitively to indicate the cause of the trap. "The monitor traps all input/output instructions." This term is associated with assembler programming ("interrupt" or "exception" is more common among HLL programmers) and appears to be fading into history among programmers as the role of assembler continues to shrink. However, it is still important to computer architects and systems hackers (see system, sense 1), who use it to distinguish deterministically repeatable exceptions from timing-dependent ones (such as I/O interrupts). [The Jargon File]
Wolf Trap, VA (CDP, FIPS 87240) Location: 38.93983 N, 77.28628 W Population (1990): 13133 (4112 housing units) Area: 24.1 sq km (land), 0.0 sq km (water)
Cal"trop\, Caltrap \Cal"trap\, n. [OE. calketrappe, calletrappe, caltor (in both senses), fr. AS. collr[ae]ppe, calcetreppe, sort of thistle; cf. F. chaussetrape star thistle, trap, It. calcatreppo, calcatreppolo, star thistle. Perh. from L. calx heel + the same word as E. trap. See 1st Trap.]1. (Bot.) A genus of herbaceous plants (Tribulus) of the order Zygophylle[ae], having a hard several-celled fruit, armed with stout spines, and resembling the military instrument of the same name. The species grow in warm countries, and are often very annoying to cattle. 2. (Mil.) An instrument with four iron points, so disposed that, any three of them being on the ground, the other projects upward. They are scattered on the ground where an enemy's cavalry are to pass, to impede their progress by endangering the horses' feet.
Gas\ (g[a^]s), n.; pl. Gases (-[e^]z). [Invented by the chemist Van Helmont of Brussels, who died in 1644.]1. An a["e]riform fluid; -- a term used at first by chemists as synonymous with air, but since restricted to fluids supposed to be permanently elastic, as oxygen, hydrogen, etc., in distinction from vapors, as steam, which become liquid on a reduction of temperature. In present usage, since all of the supposed permanent gases have been liquified by cold and pressure, the term has resumed nearly its original signification, and is applied to any substance in the elastic or a["e]riform state. 2. (Popular Usage) (a) A complex mixture of gases, of which the most important constituents are marsh gas, olefiant gas, and hydrogen, artificially produced by the destructive distillation of gas coal, or sometimes of peat, wood, oil, resin, etc. It gives a brilliant light when burned, and is the common gas used for illuminating purposes. (b) Laughing gas. (c) Any irrespirable a["e]riform fluid. Note: Gas is often used adjectively or in combination; as, gas fitter or gasfitter; gas meter or gas-meter, etc. Air gas (Chem.), a kind of gas made by forcing air through some volatile hydrocarbon, as the lighter petroleums. The air is so saturated with combustible vapor as to be a convenient illuminating and heating agent. Gas battery (Elec.), a form of voltaic battery, in which gases, especially hydrogen and oxygen, are the active agents. Gas carbon, Gas coke, etc. See under Carbon, Coke, etc. Gas coal, a bituminous or hydrogenous coal yielding a high percentage of volatile matters, and therefore available for the manufacture of illuminating gas. --R. W. Raymond. Gas engine, an engine in which the motion of the piston is produced by the combustion or sudden production or expansion of gas; -- especially, an engine in which an explosive mixture of gas and air is forced into the working cylinder and ignited there by a gas flame or an electric spark. Gas fitter, one who lays pipes and puts up fixtures for gas. Gas fitting. (a) The occupation of a gas fitter. (b) pl. The appliances needed for the introduction of gas into a building, as meters, pipes, burners, etc. Gas fixture, a device for conveying illuminating or combustible gas from the pipe to the gas-burner, consisting of an appendage of cast, wrought, or drawn metal, with tubes upon which the burners, keys, etc., are adjusted. Gas generator, an apparatus in which gas is evolved; as: (a) a retort in which volatile hydrocarbons are evolved by heat; (b) a machine in which air is saturated with the vapor of liquid hydrocarbon; a carburetor; (c) a machine for the production of carbonic acid gas, for a["e]rating water, bread, etc. --Knight. Gas jet, a flame of illuminating gas. Gas machine, an apparatus for carbureting air for use as illuminating gas. Gas meter, an instrument for recording the quantity of gas consumed in a given time, at a particular place. Gas retort, a retort which contains the coal and other materials, and in which the gas is generated, in the manufacture of gas. Gas stove, a stove for cooking or other purposes, heated by gas. Gas tar, coal tar. Gas trap, a drain trap; a sewer trap. See 4th Trap, 5. Gas washer (Gas Works), an apparatus within which gas from the condenser is brought in contact with a falling stream of water, to precipitate the tar remaining in it. --Knight. Gas water, water through which gas has been passed for purification; -- called also gas liquor and ammoniacal water, and used for the manufacture of sal ammoniac, carbonate of ammonia, and Prussian blue. --Tomlinson. Gas well, a deep boring, from which natural gas is discharged. --Raymond. Gas works, a manufactory of gas, with all the machinery and appurtenances; a place where gas is generated for lighting cities. Laughing gas. See under Laughing. Marsh gas (Chem.), a light, combustible, gaseous hydrocarbon, CH4, produced artificially by the dry distillation of many organic substances, and occurring as a natural product of decomposition in stagnant pools, whence its name. It is an abundant ingredient of ordinary illuminating gas, and is the first member of the paraffin series. Called also methane, and in coal mines, fire damp. Natural gas, gas obtained from wells, etc., in Pennsylvania, Ohio, and elsewhere, and largely used for fuel and illuminating purposes. It is chiefly derived from the Coal Measures. Olefiant gas (Chem.). See Ethylene. Water gas (Chem.), a kind of gas made by forcing steam over glowing coals, whereby there results a mixture of hydrogen and carbon monoxide. This gives a gas of intense heating power, but destitute of light-giving properties, and which is charged by passing through some volatile hydrocarbon, as gasoline.
Set\ (s[e^]t), v. t. [imp. & p. p. Set; p. pr. & vb. n. Setting.] [OE. setten, AS. setton; akin to OS. settian, OFries. setta, D. zetten, OHG. sezzen, G. setzen, Icel. setja, Sw. s["a]tta, Dan. s?tte, Goth. satjan; causative from the root of E. sit. [root]154. See Sit, and cf. Seize.]1. To cause to sit; to make to assume a specified position or attitude; to give site or place to; to place; to put; to fix; as, to set a house on a stone foundation; to set a book on a shelf; to set a dish on a table; to set a chest or trunk on its bottom or on end. I do set my bow in the cloud. --Gen. ix. 13. 2. Hence, to attach or affix (something) to something else, or in or upon a certain place. Set your affection on things above. --Col. iii. 2. The Lord set a mark upon Cain. --Gen. iv. 15. 3. To make to assume specified place, condition, or occupation; to put in a certain condition or state (described by the accompanying words); to cause to be. The Lord thy God will set thee on high. --Deut. xxviii. 1. I am come to set a man at variance against his father, and the daughter against her mother. --Matt. x. 35. Every incident sets him thinking. --Coleridge. 4. To fix firmly; to make fast, permanent, or stable; to render motionless; to give an unchanging place, form, or condition to. Specifically: (a) To cause to stop or stick; to obstruct; to fasten to a spot; hence, to occasion difficulty to; to embarrass; as, to set a coach in the mud. They show how hard they are set in this particular. --Addison. (b) To fix beforehand; to determine; hence, to make unyielding or obstinate; to render stiff, unpliant, or rigid; as, to set one's countenance. His eyes were set by reason of his age. --1 Kings xiv. 4. On these three objects his heart was set. --Macaulay. Make my heart as a millstone, set my face as a flint. --Tennyson. (c) To fix in the ground, as a post or a tree; to plant; as, to set pear trees in an orchard. (d) To fix, as a precious stone, in a border of metal; to place in a setting; hence, to place in or amid something which serves as a setting; as, to set glass in a sash. And him too rich a jewel to be set In vulgar metal for a vulgar use. --Dryden. (e) To render stiff or solid; especially, to convert into curd; to curdle; as, to set milk for cheese. 5. To put into a desired position or condition; to adjust; to regulate; to adapt. Specifically: (a) To put in order in a particular manner; to prepare; as, to set (that is, to hone) a razor; to set a saw. Tables for to sette, and beddes make. --Chaucer. (b) To extend and bring into position; to spread; as, to set the sails of a ship. (c) To give a pitch to, as a tune; to start by fixing the keynote; as, to set a psalm. --Fielding. (d) To reduce from a dislocated or fractured state; to replace; as, to set a broken bone. (e) To make to agree with some standard; as, to set a watch or a clock. (f) (Masonry) To lower into place and fix solidly, as the blocks of cut stone in a structure. 6. To stake at play; to wager; to risk. I have set my life upon a cast, And I will stand the hazard of the die. --Shak. 7. To fit with music; to adapt, as words to notes; to prepare for singing. Set thy own songs, and sing them to thy lute. --Dryden. 8. To determine; to appoint; to assign; to fix; as, to set a time for a meeting; to set a price on a horse. 9. To adorn with something infixed or affixed; to stud; to variegate with objects placed here and there. High on their heads, with jewels richly set, Each lady wore a radiant coronet. --Dryden. Pastoral dales thin set with modern farms. --Wordsworth. 10. To value; to rate; -- with at. Be you contented, wearing now the garland, To have a son set your decrees at naught. --Shak. I do not set my life at a pin's fee. --Shak. 11. To point out the seat or position of, as birds, or other game; -- said of hunting dogs. 12. To establish as a rule; to furnish; to prescribe; to assign; as, to set an example; to set lessons to be learned. 13. To suit; to become; as, it sets him ill. [Scot.] 14. (Print.) To compose; to arrange in words, lines, etc.; as, to set type; to set a page. To set abroach. See Abroach. [Obs.] --Shak. To set against, to oppose; to set in comparison with, or to oppose to, as an equivalent in exchange; as, to set one thing against another. To set agoing, to cause to move. To set apart, to separate to a particular use; to separate from the rest; to reserve. To set a saw, to bend each tooth a little, every alternate one being bent to one side, and the intermediate ones to the other side, so that the opening made by the saw may be a little wider than the thickness of the back, to prevent the saw from sticking. To set aside. (a) To leave out of account; to pass by; to omit; to neglect; to reject; to annul. Setting aside all other considerations, I will endeavor to know the truth, and yield to that. --Tillotson. (b) To set apart; to reserve; as, to set aside part of one's income. (c) (Law) See under Aside. To set at defiance, to defy. To set at ease, to quiet; to tranquilize; as, to set the heart at ease. To set at naught, to undervalue; to contemn; to despise. "Ye have set at naught all my counsel." --Prov. i. 25. To set atrap, snare, or gin, to put it in a proper condition or position to catch prey; hence, to lay a plan to deceive and draw another into one's power. To set at work, or To set to work. (a) To cause to enter on work or action, or to direct how tu enter on work. (b) To apply one's self; -- used reflexively. To set before. (a) To bring out to view before; to exhibit. (b) To propose for choice to; to offer to. To set by. (a) To set apart or on one side; to reject. (b) To attach the value of (anything) to. "I set not a straw by thy dreamings." --Chaucer. To set by the compass, to observe and note the bearing or situation of by the compass. To set case, to suppose; to assume. Cf. Put case, under Put, v. t. [Obs.] --Chaucer. To set down. (a) To enter in writing; to register. Some rules were to be set down for the government of the army. --Clarendon. (b) To fix; to establish; to ordain. This law we may name eternal, being that order which God . . . hath set down with himself, for himself to do all things by. --Hooker. (c) To humiliate. To set eyes on, to see; to behold; to fasten the eyes on. To set fire to, or To set on fire, to communicate fire to; fig., to inflame; to enkindle the passions of; to irritate. To set flying (Naut.), to hook to halyards, sheets, etc., instead of extending with rings or the like on a stay; -- said of a sail. To set forth. (a) To manifest; to offer or present to view; to exhibt; to display. (b) To publish; to promulgate; to make appear. --Waller. (c) To send out; to prepare and send. [Obs.] The Venetian admiral had a fleet of sixty galleys, set forth by the Venetians. --Knolles. To set forward. (a) To cause to advance. (b) To promote. To set free, to release from confinement, imprisonment, or bondage; to liberate; to emancipate. To set in, to put in the way; to begin; to give a start to. [Obs.] If you please to assist and set me in, I will recollect myself. --Collier. To set in order, to adjust or arrange; to reduce to method. "The rest will I set in order when I come." --1 Cor. xi. 34. To set milk. (a) To expose it in open dishes in order that the cream may rise to the surface. (b) To cause it to become curdled as by the action of rennet. See 4 (e) . To setmuch, or little, by, to care much, or little, for. To set of, to value; to set by. [Obs.] "I set not an haw of his proverbs." --Chaucer. To set off. (a) To separate from a whole; to assign to a particular purpose; to portion off; as, to set off a portion of an estate. (b) To adorn; to decorate; to embellish. They . . . set off the worst faces with the best airs. --Addison. (c) To give a flattering description of. To set off against, to place against as an equivalent; as, to set off one man's services against another's. To seton or upon. (a) To incite; to instigate. "Thou, traitor, hast set on thy wife to this." --Shak. (b) To employ, as in a task. " Set on thy wife to observe." --Shak. (c) To fix upon; to attach strongly to; as, to set one's heart or affections on some object. See definition 2, above. To set one's cap for. See under Cap, n. To set one's self against, to place one's self in a state of enmity or opposition to. To set one's teeth, to press them together tightly. To set on foot, to set going; to put in motion; to start. To set out. (a) To assign; to allot; to mark off; to limit; as, to set out the share of each proprietor or heir of an estate; to set out the widow's thirds. (b) To publish, as a proclamation. [Obs.] (c) To adorn; to embellish. An ugly woman, in rich habit set out with jewels, nothing can become. --Dryden. (d) To raise, equip, and send forth; to furnish. [R.] The Venetians pretend they could set out, in case of great necessity, thirty men-of-war. --Addison. (e) To show; to display; to recommend; to set off. I could set out that best side of Luther. --Atterbury. (f) To show; to prove. [R.] "Those very reasons set out how heinous his sin was." --Atterbury. (g) (Law) To recite; to state at large. To set over. (a) To appoint or constitute as supervisor, inspector, ruler, or commander. (b) To assign; to transfer; to convey. To set right, to correct; to put in order. To set sail. (Naut.) See under Sail, n. To set store by, to consider valuable. To set the fashion, to determine what shall be the fashion; to establish the mode. To set the teeth on edge, to affect the teeth with a disagreeable sensation, as when acids are brought in contact with them. To set the watch (Naut.), to place the starboard or port watch on duty. To set to, to attach to; to affix to. "He . . . hath set to his seal that God is true." --John iii. 33. To set up. (a) To erect; to raise; to elevate; as, to set up a building, or a machine; to set up a post, a wall, a pillar. (b) Hence, to exalt; to put in power. "I will . . . set up the throne of David over Israel." --2 Sam. iii. 10. (c) To begin, as a new institution; to institute; to establish; to found; as, to set up a manufactory; to set up a school. (d) To enable to commence a new business; as, to set up a son in trade. (e) To place in view; as, to set up a mark. (f) To raise; to utter loudly; as, to set up the voice. I'll set up such a note as she shall hear. --Dryden. (g) To advance; to propose as truth or for reception; as, to set up a new opinion or doctrine. --T. Burnet. (h) To raise from depression, or to a sufficient fortune; as, this good fortune quite set him up. (i) To intoxicate. [Slang] (j) (Print.) To put in type; as, to set up copy; to arrange in words, lines, etc., ready for printing; as, to set up type. To set up the rigging (Naut.), to make it taut by means of tackles. --R. H. Dana, Jr. Syn: See Put.
Tramp\, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Tramped; p. pr. & vb. n. Tramping.] [OE. trampen; akin to LG. trampen, G. trampeln, LG. & D. trappen, Dan. trampe, Sw. & Icel. trampa, Goth. anatrimpan to press upon; also to D. trap a step, G. treppe steps, stairs. Cf. Trap a kind of rock, Trape, Trip, v. i., Tread.]1. To tread upon forcibly and repeatedly; to trample. 2. To travel or wander through; as, to tramp the country. [Colloq.] 3. To cleanse, as clothes, by treading upon them in water. [Scot.] --Jamieson.
![[P]](http://cache.lexico.com/g/d/premium_mh.gif){kind=small}
Audio Help [trap] Pronunciation Key, noun, verb, trapped, trap·ping. 
