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

Following the crash, he sustained multiple crushing injuries to his leg and was trapped in the lorry for an hour and a half while emergency services worked to free him.

From BBC

A man in Tanzania's biggest city, Dar es Salaam, has told the BBC he is waiting to hear news of his mother, who remains trapped two days after a building collapsed.

From BBC

Some mortgage firms are reluctant to deal with homes with spray foam insulation due to concerns over poor fitting leaving moisture trapped and roof timbers at risk of decay.

From BBC

But this time was different, closing the gap on those 30 passing years like two hands clapped together, with a lot of joy and pain trapped inside, like a buzzing fly.

From Salon

Globally, freshwater levels have stayed consistently low since the 2014-2016 El Niño, while more water remains trapped in the atmosphere as water vapor.

From Science Daily

Related Words

• captured
• cornered