Link Centre Dictionary

mousetrap

mou·set·rap

UK/ˈmaʊsˌtɹæp/ US/ˈmaʊˌstræp/ uncommon informal uk

noun

1.

a trap for catching mice

2.

(American football) a play in which a defensive player is allowed to cross the line of scrimmage and then blocked off as the runner goes through the place the lineman vacated

Synonyms

Origin

From Middle English mouse-trappe, mous trappe, mouse trape, equivalent to mouse + trap. Cognate with Dutch muizetrap, muizentrap (“mousetrap”), German Low German Muustrappe, Muustrapp (“mousetrap”). In the Internet sense, refers to a computer mouse.

Phrases

  • build a better mousetrap
  • build a better mousetrap and the world will beat a path to your door
  • mousetrap gun
  • mousetrap man

Related words

Broader terms

WordNet 2.1 (Princeton University). Wiktionary (CC BY-SA). CMU Pronouncing Dictionary. WordNet 2.1 Copyright Princeton University. All rights reserved. Wiktionary content is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike Licence.