Definition

Adjective: 1. Caught and unable to move or escape: Describes a person, animal, or thing that is physically confined or held in a place from which it is difficult or impossible to get free. 2. Forced into a difficult or inescapable situation: Describes a state of being caught in an unpleasant circumstance, obligation, or emotional state with no apparent way out.

Examples

• Adjective:
  • The trapped miners were rescued after five days. (The miners were caught and unable to leave the mine.)
  • I felt trapped in my job with no opportunities for advancement. (I felt stuck in a difficult professional situation with no escape.)
  • The firefighter worked to free the trapped driver from the wreckage. (The driver was physically caught and unable to move in the damaged vehicle.)

Advanced Usage

• "to be trapped in/by something": This is the most common structure, indicating what is causing the confinement.
  • The city was trapped by the invading army.
  • She felt trapped in a cycle of debt.
• "like a trapped animal": An idiom used to describe someone who is desperate, frightened, and ready to fight or flee because they feel cornered.
  • Backed into a corner, he reacted like a trapped animal.

Variants and Related Words

• Trap (verb): To catch or confine someone or something.
  • The hunters trapped the fox.
• Trap (noun): A device or situation used for catching someone or something.
  • The mouse was caught in the trap.
• Entrapped (adjective): Similar to "trapped," often used in legal or formal contexts to mean caught by deception or trickery.
• Cornered (adjective): Forced into a position where escape is impossible; often implies being confronted.

Synonyms

• Cornered: Forced to turn and face attackers or a difficult situation.
• Confined: Kept within limits; restrained.
• Stuck: Unable to move or progress.
• Ensnared: Caught, as if in a snare or trap.

Related Phrasal Verbs/Constructions

• Trap in/inside: To cause someone or something to be caught inside a place.
  • Several people were trapped inside the burning building.
• Trap under: To be caught and held beneath something.
  • His leg was trapped under a fallen beam.

Related Idioms

• Caught in a trap: To be ensnared in a bad situation, often of one's own making.
  • His lies finally caught up with him, and he was caught in a trap of his own devising.

Adjective

1. forced to turn and face attackers
   • a stag at bay
   • she had me cornered between the porch and her car
   • like a trapped animal