mousetrap

1 of 2

noun

mouse·​trap ˈmau̇s-ˌtrap 

1

: a trap for mice

2

: a stratagem that lures one to defeat or destruction

3

: trap entry 1 sense 2b

mousetrap

2 of 2

verb

mousetrapped; mousetrapping; mousetraps

transitive verb

: to snare in or as if in a mousetrap

Examples of mousetrap in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Noun

But if their previous pictures felt like ornate, twisted little mousetraps, The Devil’s Bath feels less precise, more cosmic. —Bilge Ebiri, Vulture, 28 June 2024

Undeterred, Halpin and team endeavor to continue to build a better mousetrap. —Steven Ehrlich, Forbes, 22 Oct. 2024

Verb

All of that seems to have been forgotten, though, in the rush to better mousetrap the category with extreme levels of brightness, unconventional form factors, solar charging, and other needless complication. —Wes Siler, Outside Online, 9 Apr. 2020

Word History

First Known Use

Noun

15th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Verb

circa 1864, in the meaning defined above