trapped

[ trapt ]

adjective

1. caught in or as if in a trap or by a ruse, trick, or stratagem:

   Relocate any trapped rabbit at least five miles from the capture site.

   Early in the visit I became the trapped witness to a nasty argument between my host and his wife, which they expected me to arbitrate.

2. (of air, water, etc.) held or contained in an enclosed space or in another substance:

   Make sure the clay is pressed flat, with no trapped air bubbles.

3. accidentally stuck or jammed in a narrow place from which release is difficult:

   This excellent telescopic ladder has finger guards—no more trapped fingers when letting it down!

4. set with traps:

   We followed the track carefully through heavily trapped bush to the meeting place.

5. (of a drain, pipe, or the like) furnished with a device for stopping undesirable substances from flowing through:

   The pipes discharge wastewater into a sewer, usually through a trapped drain.

6. Baseball. (of a ball) caught as it hits the ground:

   Challenges to the umpire included a trapped ball in the outfield that nobody else thought was actually caught.

verb

1. the simple past tense and past participle of trap ¹

Word History and Origins

Origin of trapped¹

First recorded in 1425–75; trap ¹( def ) + -ed ²( def ) for the adjective senses; trap ¹( def ) + -ed ¹( def ) for the verb sense

Example Sentences

He is trapped with his 11-year-old daughter, Noa, and three younger children inside the school, unable to reach a higher floor.

From BBC

Simmons’ role isn’t much more than a cameo, as he spends most of the movie asleep in a fishbowl, trapped there by Kiernan Shipka’s “Christmas witch” Gryla.

From Los Angeles Times

"I was writing about six people trapped in a tin can. It felt like there was something resonant about that and our experience of lockdown, of not being able to escape each other and also not being able to get to other people."

From BBC

That wave was then “trapped” in the narrow fjord - moving back and forth for nine days, generating the vibrations.

From BBC

Dr. S. was trapped in Gaza when he returned home days before Oct.

From Salon

Related Words

• captured
• cornered