booby traps 1 of 2

plural of booby trap
1
as in mines
a usually concealed explosive device designed to go off when disturbed luckily, the bomb squad didn't find any booby traps

Synonyms & Similar Words

Relevance
2
as in risks
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

booby-traps

2 of 2

verb

present tense third-person singular of booby-trap
as in attacks
to place hidden explosive devices in or under booby-trapped the field bordering the army's camp

Synonyms & Similar Words

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 traps
Noun
Four years later, Kaczynski started adding booby traps around his cabin, and throughout the 1980s, he was accused by his neighbors of poisoning their dogs, The New York Times reported in 1999. — Katie Mather, PEOPLE, 28 Sep. 2026 But first, Roy has to undo all the booby traps in there placed to mess with visiting teams’ heads. — Hannah Abraham, Forbes.com, 12 Aug. 2026 The gauntlet of booby traps culminating in the giant boulder that kick off Raiders is my single favorite opening sequence in a movie ever. — Chris Nashawaty, Entertainment Weekly, 13 June 2026 Picture Indiana Jones swapping his fedora for a Han dynasty helmet, dodging booby traps in dusty Chinese tombs. — Urnesha Bhattacherjee, Encyclopedia Britannica, 27 Apr. 2026 In the days leading up to the attack, Ghazali allegedly rigged his truck with booby traps, fireworks, explosives, and large amounts of gasoline. — Bonny Chu, FOXNews.com, 30 Mar. 2026 The movie’s biggest laughs come from Kevin’s hijinks, which involve setting up complex booby traps to fend off a pair of burglars targeting his family’s home. — Shirley Li, The Atlantic, 30 Jan. 2026 Their 2025-26 season has been littered with injury landmines and other booby traps hidden in the walls of Ball Arena. — Bennett Durando, Denver Post, 30 Jan. 2026 Deputies said during the initial call that neighbors had reported gunshots being fired and that a second caller, who claimed to have fired the gun, had placed booby traps around a home in the Kavala Ranch development. — Graham Womack, Sacbee.com, 27 Jan. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for booby traps
Noun
  • The impoverished Reds work as slave labor in the mines of Mars, while the super-strong Golds rule the solar system and war on each other.
    — Jordan Moreau, Variety, 16 Oct. 2026
  • For example, largely because of the environmental disaster that is Weikuang Dam, the country doesn’t permit the development or operation of stand-alone monazite mines—that is, mines where nothing is mined except monazite ore.
    — Glenn Zorpette, IEEE Spectrum, 15 Oct. 2026
Noun
  • Qualifying risks must involve more than $1 billion in damages or the deaths or serious injuries of over 50 people.
    — Aamir Khollam, Interesting Engineering, 17 Oct. 2026
  • Commercial incentives persist Koh said shipping companies around the world have continued looking for opportunities to navigate the Strait since the conflict erupted, with some operators prepared to accept higher risks and costs.
    — Lee Ying Shan, CNBC, 16 Oct. 2026
Noun
  • Tighter oversight of explosives The task force also called for tighter controls on the importation and regulation of fireworks and explosive materials.
    — Daniel Lempres, Sacbee.com, 28 Jan. 2026
Noun
  • His Minderoo Foundation—named for the cattle ranch of his childhood—has since given about $28 million to Ukraine’s schools and agricultural projects, and to clearing land mines.
    — Vivienne Walt, Fortune, 23 Sep. 2026
  • Since the wars ended, land mines and unexploded ordnance have killed approximately 90,000 people and wounded almost twice as many across the three countries.
    — ABC News, ABC News, 18 Aug. 2026
Noun
  • That type of physicality can come in handy on plays like quick hitches, screens, drags run over the middle of the field.
    — Omar Kelly, Miami Herald, 20 Sep. 2026
  • The process had a few hitches in it caused by the divorce, but the Swopes showed up regularly at their immigration meetings as scheduled, working through the long process.
    — Ben Fenwick, Oklahoma Watch, 12 July 2026
Noun
  • Efforts to move the games to larger area venues, such as Gas South Arena (around 13,000 seats) and Georgia Tech’s McCamish Pavilion (8,600 seats), have hit snags, according to USA Today.
    — Chuck Schilken, Los Angeles Times, 12 Oct. 2026
  • Gurman claims the foldable is still on track for this fall, despite chatter about manufacturing snags.
    — Kimberly Gedeon, PC Magazine, 8 Sep. 2026

Browse Nearby Words

See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Booby traps.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/booby%20traps. Accessed 20 Oct. 2026.

Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!