Definition

1. Noun:
   • A trap for catching mice: A device, typically baited, designed to catch and often kill mice.
   • (American football) A specific defensive play: A tactic where a defensive player is intentionally allowed to cross the line of scrimmage, only to be blocked, creating a gap for the ball carrier.

Examples of Usage

• Noun:
  • We set a mousetrap in the pantry to deal with the rodent problem.
  • The defense executed a perfect mousetrap, resulting in a significant loss of yards for the offense.

Advanced Usage

• "To build a better mousetrap": An idiom meaning to create a superior version of a common product or to find a better solution to a widespread problem.
  • Many startups aim to build a better mousetrap in the crowded tech market.

Variants and Related Words

• Mousetrapping (n, gerund): The act of using a mousetrap or the football play.
  • The constant mousetrapping finally solved the infestation.
• Mousetrapped (adj/verb, past tense): Caught in a mousetrap or deceived by a clever plan.
  • The unsuspecting mouse was mousetrapped by the cheese.

Synonyms

• Snare: A trap for catching animals.
• Trap: A device or stratagem for catching someone or something unawares.

Related Phrases

• "Like a mousetrap": Describes something that snaps shut quickly and decisively.
  • The new security system closed around the intruder like a mousetrap.

Noun

1. (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
2. a trap for catching mice