trapdoor
12
3.3
- noun
- /ˈtræpˌdɔr/
- Specialized
:
escotilla
- You went down into the bomb shelter through a trapdoor in the garage.
- open trapdoor
- hidden trapdoor
- lift the trapdoor
This is where Simone's trapdoors for popcorn are.
- This is where Simone's trapdoors for popcorn are.
- And finally the enclosure was there, the trapdoor was in place.
- It rock bottom has a trapdoor and that trapdoor has a basement and you could just keep falling and falling and falling.
- They can't tell whether the door lies flat, like a trapdoor, or slant wise, like an outer cellar door.
Examples
-
David is pulling himself through the trapdoor up into the loft.
Fiction book (1994) -
There's a trapdoor down here.
-
Underneath it was a trapdoor.
-
He fell through a trapdoor in the floor.
-
The loft above the flat is in darkness, but the trapdoor is open, letting in a pool of light.
Fiction book (1994) -
Adina pushed with all her might, trying to lift the trapdoor to escape.
Fiction book (1990) -
I poke my head up through the trapdoor in the attic.
Fiction book (1993) -
With a loud crash, the trapdoor entrance to the tower falls open, throwing up a large cloud of dust.
Fiction book (1998) -
Having opened the trapdoor, Alex stops and listens, but there is no sound above his own breathing.
Fiction book (1994) -
During the play, the actor dramatically entered from a hidden trapdoor on the stage.
Synonyms
876
1.0
A way or chance to get something better, for example a job
140
3.7
A cover that closes an opening on a car or boat
17
3.3
A door in a floor or stage that opens to a space below
4
4.1
A small door in a vehicle or building that lets people get out quickly in an emergency
How Hidden
Surface Forms
Morphology
Etymology
The word trapdoor combines the parts trap, a device 'to catch', and door, so it originally named a hidden or secret door in a floor or ceiling that could hide or drop someone into another space.