death-trap

The old wooden bridge over the gorge is a complete death-trap.

Definition

1. Noun:
   • A place or thing that is dangerously unsafe: "death-trap" refers to a location, structure, vehicle, or situation that is extremely hazardous and likely to cause death or serious injury.
   • A situation with high risk of fatality: It can also describe any circumstance or object that is inherently dangerous, often due to poor design, neglect, or lack of safety measures.

Usage Examples

• (The building is extremely unsafe and likely to kill someone.)
• (The ladder is dangerously unstable and could cause a fatal fall.)
• (The factory is hazardous and poses a lethal risk to workers.)

Advanced Usage

• "to be a death-trap on wheels": a vehicle that is dangerously unsafe to drive.

  • That car has no brakes and bald tires — it's a death-trap on wheels. (The vehicle is extremely dangerous to operate.)

• "to walk into a death-trap": to enter a place or situation that is highly likely to cause harm.

  • The hikers ignored the warning signs and walked into a death-trap of unstable cliffs. (They entered an area that could lead to fatal accidents.)

Variants and Related Words

• Death-trap (n): a hyphenated compound word; no common variant forms, but note that it is sometimes written without a hyphen ("death trap") in informal usage, though "death-trap" is standard in dictionaries.
• Deathly (adj): resembling or suggesting death; extremely dangerous.
  • The deathly silence in the abandoned mine made it feel like a death-trap. (The silence suggested extreme danger.)

Synonyms

• Deathtrap (n): same meaning, often used interchangeably.
  • The condemned building was a deathtrap.
• Hazard (n): a danger or risk.
  • The loose wiring is a hazard, but a death-trap implies an immediate, lethal threat.
• Kill zone (n): an area where death is highly probable (military or extreme contexts).
  • The avalanche-prone valley was a kill zone, much like a death-trap.

Phrasal Verbs

• Turn into a death-trap: to become dangerously unsafe over time.
  • Without maintenance, the old bridge turned into a death-trap. (It became extremely hazardous.)

Related Idioms

• A death trap waiting to happen: a situation or object that is almost certain to cause a fatal accident.

  • That amusement park ride is a death trap waiting to happen. (The ride is so poorly built that an accident is inevitable.)

• Trap of death: a poetic or formal variant, used in literary contexts.

  • The cave was a trap of death for unwary explorers. (The cave was a deadly hazard for those who entered.)