Words / B2

TRAP/træp/

A trap is a device or plan to catch someone, or a mistake people fall into: a common trap; set a trap. Trick is deception (later entries); catch is everyday. A common trap is treating correlation as cause. Verb: trap (catch and hold). Mix-up: trip (already in the dictionary); tape. Do not call a fair exam question a trap without a wording issue.

Meaning

A device or plan to catch someone; also a mistake people fall into; as a verb, to catch and hold.

Examples

• “A common trap is treating correlation as cause, the methods tutor said.”
• “A speed trap featured in the road-safety source, which is the catching device.”

Good to know

a common / exam trap; set / fall into a trap; trap + someone. Close: trick (deceive). Trap: trip. Methods, news, and H&S. A catch, or a predictable mistake — specify.

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