Booby Trap

Pronunciation: /ˈbuːbi ˌtræp/

Definitions of booby trap

noun a device or setup that is intended to catch someone in a trap or to cause harm or injury

Example Sentences

A1 The booby trap in the forest caught the unsuspecting hiker.

A2 The soldiers carefully searched for booby traps before advancing further.

B1 The detective suspected that the burglary was a result of a booby trap set by the thief.

B2 The spy narrowly escaped the enemy's booby trap and continued with the mission.

C1 The expert bomb squad was called in to disarm the complex booby trap found in the building.

C2 The treasure hunters were cautious as they navigated through the ancient ruins filled with booby traps.

Examples of booby trap in a Sentence

formal The soldiers were trained to detect and disarm any booby traps set by the enemy.

informal Watch out for that booby trap in the hallway, it's a sneaky one!

slang I almost fell for the booby trap that my friend set up as a prank.

figurative The contract had several hidden clauses that acted like a booby trap for unsuspecting clients.

Grammatical Forms of booby trap

• past tense: booby trapped
• plural: booby traps
• comparative: more booby trap
• superlative: most booby trap
• present tense: booby traps
• future tense: will booby trap
• perfect tense: has booby trapped
• continuous tense: is booby trapping
• singular: booby trap
• positive degree: booby trap
• infinitive: to booby trap
• gerund: booby trapping
• participle: booby trapped

Origin and Evolution of booby trap

First Known Use: 1680 year

Language of Origin: Spanish

Story behind the word: The term 'booby trap' originated from the Spanish word 'bobo', meaning fool or stupid, and was used by pirates in the 17th century to describe traps set to catch unsuspecting victims.

Evolution of the word: Over time, the term 'booby trap' has come to refer to any hidden or camouflaged device designed to injure or kill unsuspecting individuals, not just fools or stupid people as originally implied.