Skip to the word

Added 9 October 2026

mousetrap

/ˈmaʊsˌtɹæp/ noun

In Latin: mūscipula Wiktionary

noun Definition from WordNet 3.1, Princeton University. Pronunciation from Wiktionary, via Kaikki.org. More about mousetrap at Wordnik → Where our words come from →

A trap for catching mice.
(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.

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.

From Wiktionary, via Kaikki.org (CC BY-SA)

Back to today's word