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Glite Dictionary
trap door

trap door

17 3.3
A door in a floor or stage that opens to a space below
  • noun
  • /træp dɔr/
: trampilla
  • The attic had an old trap door that led to a hidden room filled with antiques.
  • trap door in the ceiling
  • trap door to the cellar
  • trap door in the floor

You've never shut the trap door behind her.

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Examples

  • It was reached by a trap door in the middle of the floor, from which a ladder led down into the small, dark hole.

    OzLand (2015)

  • Having owned the house, he knew there was a secret trap door that led to a small crawl space underneath of where Larry's desk now sat.

  • This right here, this is a trap door.

    Mainstream (2021)

  • What about the trap door ?

    The Morning After (2019)

  • Okay, this trap door is pretty small.

    Twice Upon a Time (1983)

  • Okay, why is there a trap door in your tunnel?

    Haunt (2019)

  • The guard looks up at the trap door in the ceiling of the car.

    Fiction book (1992)

  • All elevators have to have trap doors.

    I Wanna Hold Your Hand (1978)

  • Police sirens fade as a trap door opens in the floor.

    Fiction book (1995)

  • Will crouches down by the trap door and drops down into a dark, dank tunnel.

    Fiction book (2002)

Synonyms

trapdoor
vstrap door
  • Specialized
12 3.3

A small door in a floor or ceiling that opens to a hidden space

is a hinged or sliding door serving to allow or prevent access generally

How Hidden

trap door
17 3.3
hatch
140 3.7
door
∞ 1.0

Surface Forms

trap door singular
trap doors plural

Morphology

trap + door

The meaning is directly compositional: 'trap' (a device to catch) + 'door' (an entry) yields a door that covers or forms a trap/opening in a floor or ceiling. This literal compound follows normal English compounding patterns and is likely inferable by a B1 learner who knows the two constituents.

Etymology

Trap door comes from the idea of a trap, a hidden opening that could 'catch' or hide things, and door, the cover in a floor. In theaters and old houses people or objects could be sent through this hidden cover to 'appear' or 'disappear', so today it means a hidden door set into a floor or ceiling.