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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
Jacqueline Charles, Miami Herald, 3 Apr. 2025
Officers then evacuated the home and called the Los Angeles County bomb squad to clear the home of additional booby traps, according to police.
—Thao Nguyen, USA TODAY, 28 Feb. 2025
Trail cams may be easily spotted and removed – though the risk of booby traps can make this challenging – but they can quickly be replaced.
—David Hambling, Forbes, 21 Jan. 2025
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
See All Example Sentences for booby-trap
Noun
Last month gangs burned or confiscated at least a half-dozen armored carriers belonging to the police and the mission after setting booby traps and catching cops off guard.
—Jacqueline Charles, Miami Herald, 3 Apr. 2025
Officers then evacuated the home and called the Los Angeles County bomb squad to clear the home of additional booby traps, according to police.
—Thao Nguyen, USA TODAY, 28 Feb. 2025
Trail cams may be easily spotted and removed – though the risk of booby traps can make this challenging – but they can quickly be replaced.
—David Hambling, Forbes, 21 Jan. 2025
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
See All Example Sentences for booby-trap
Recent Examples of Synonyms for booby-trap
Verb
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In a new warning, a senior Iranian army official said Tehran was ready to broaden its military reach beyond conventional strikes if attacked.—
Amira El-Fekki,
MSNBC Newsweek,
18 Sep. 2025
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Taylor fills the bootstraps of Perfidia Beverly Hills, a formidable leader armed with a rifle fighting for the cause, her main prerogative is to overtake the institutions that imprison and attack vulnerable groups.—
Essence,
Essence,
18 Sep. 2025
Noun
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Dropla also created the Droplet Device – a portable AI unit that attaches to drone controllers, allowing soldiers to detect mines on supply routes in real time.—
David Kirichenko,
Forbes.com,
16 Sep. 2025
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The insurance crisis is the canary in the coal mine for the climate crisis, and the canary is dying.—
Giulia Carbonaro,
MSNBC Newsweek,
15 Sep. 2025
Noun
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According to Champion, the wedding went off without a hitch — in no small part because her husband-to-be was very hands-on throughout the planning process.—
Shania Russell,
Entertainment Weekly,
14 Sep. 2025
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The two-door, three-person Can-Am Defender Limited and the four-door, six-person Defender Max Limited have 82-horsepower engines, power steering, tow hitches with a 2,500-pound towing capacity, winches, air conditioning and heating, a full hard roof and a three-position tilt-up glass windshield.—
Steve Waters,
Miami Herald,
12 Sep. 2025
Verb
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Invita Cafe, a San Diego coffee shop, is being scrutinized and review-bombed on social media for pro-Charlie Kirk posts and products as part of a broader national response on both sides of the political aisle to last week's assassination of the conservative commentator.—
Nick Mordowanec,
MSNBC Newsweek,
16 Sep. 2025
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Forget the marketing campaign that bombed.—
Jodie Cook,
Forbes.com,
16 Sep. 2025
Noun
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There are different ways to demine territory, from using dogs to sniff out land mines to sappers—combat engineers focusing on clearing mines—manually working their way through an area, or operators remotely controlling large demining machines.—
Ellie Cook,
MSNBC Newsweek,
28 Aug. 2025
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In the rather chaotic encounter with journalists in the Oval Office, both Trump and Zelensky avoided stepping on any rhetorical land mines.—
Ben Wedeman,
CNN Money,
18 Aug. 2025
Verb
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The interior is easily wipeable and not baggy or creased in a way that might trap liquid or crumbs.—
Adam Campbell-Schmitt,
Bon Appetit Magazine,
18 Sep. 2025
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If trapped by moving water, seek the highest possible point and contact emergency services by calling 911.—
CA Weather Bot,
Sacbee.com,
18 Sep. 2025
Noun
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Many have significant reservations about the safety and efficacy of the COVID vaccine, despite assurances from most experts that the benefits outweigh the risks.—
Paul Sisson,
San Diego Union-Tribune,
20 Sep. 2025
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But the ground level faces severe flooding risks through a combination of rainstorms and earthquakes that bring soil water to the surface, per a study conducted in 2016 by the San Francisco Bay Conservation & Development Commission.—
Shomik Mukherjee,
Mercury News,
20 Sep. 2025
Noun
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While this usually indicates a healthy corporate sector, some worry this narrowness may lead investors to misprice risks, particularly as some industries hit snags in an uncertain economic environment.—
Sasha Rogelberg,
Fortune,
12 Sep. 2025
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On the northeast and east side, firefighting crews continue to mop up and strengthen existing lines by removing snags and completing hose lays across steep, rocky terrain, and old-growth vegetation.—
CA WILDFIRE BOT,
Sacbee.com,
11 Sep. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Booby-trap.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/booby-trap. Accessed 20 Sep. 2025.
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