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Trap vs Steal - What's the difference?

trap | steal |

As nouns the difference between trap and steal

is that trap is stair, step while steal is the act of stealing.

As a verb steal is

(lb) to take illegally, or without the owner's permission, something owned by someone else.

trap

English

(wikipedia trap)

Etymology 1

(etyl) (m), from (etyl) and possibly Albanian (m) "raft, channel, path". Connection to "step" is "that upon which one steps". (etyl) are ultimately borrowings from (etyl).

Noun

(en noun)
  • A machine or other device designed to catch (and sometimes kill) animals, either by holding them in a container, or by catching hold of part of the body.
  • I put down some traps in my apartment to try and deal with the mouse problem.
  • A trick or arrangement designed to catch someone in a more general sense; a snare.
  • Unfortunately she fell into the trap of confusing biology with destiny.
  • * Shakespeare
  • God and your majesty / Protect mine innocence, or I fall into / The trap is laid for me!
  • A covering over a hole or opening; a trapdoor.
  • Close the trap , would you, before someone falls and breaks their neck.
  • A wooden instrument shaped somewhat like a shoe, used in the game of trapball; the game of trapball itself.
  • Any device used to hold and suddenly release an object.
  • They shot out of the school gates like greyhounds out of the trap .
  • A bend, sag, or other device in a waste-pipe arranged so that the liquid contents form a seal which prevents the escape of noxious gases, but permits the flow of liquids.
  • A place in a water pipe, pump, etc., where air accumulates for want of an outlet.
  • (historical) A light two-wheeled carriage with springs.
  • * 1913 , D.H. Lawrence,
  • The two women looked down the alley. At the end of the Bottoms a man stood in a sort of old-fashioned trap , bending over bundles of cream-coloured stuff; while a cluster of women held up their arms to him, some with bundles.
  • * 1919 ,
  • I had told them they could have my trap to take them as far as the road went, because after that they had a long walk.
  • *
  • At the last moment Mollie, the foolish, pretty white mare who drew Mr. Jones's trap , came mincing daintily in, chewing at a lump of sugar.
  • (slang) A person's mouth.
  • Keep your trap shut .
  • (in the plural) belongings
  • * 1870 , , Running for Governor ,
  • ...his cabin-mates in Montana losing small valuables from time to time, until at last, these things having been invariably found on Mr. Twain's person or in his "trunk" (newspaper he rolled his traps in)...
  • (slang) cubicle (in a public toilet)
  • I've just laid a cable in trap 2 so I'd give it 5 minutes if I were you.
  • (sports) Short for trapshooting.
  • (computing) An exception generated by the processor or by an external event.
  • (Australia, slang, historical) A mining license inspector during the Australian gold rush.
  • * 1996 , Judith Kapferer, Being All Equal: Identity, Difference and Australian Cultural Practice , page 84,
  • The miners? grievances centred on the issue of the compulsory purchase of miners? licences and the harassment of raids by the licensing police, the ‘traps ,’ in search of unlicensed miners.
  • * 2006 , Helen Calvert, Jenny Herbst, Ross Smith, Australia and the World: Thinking Historically , page 55,
  • Diggers were angered by frequent licence inspections and harassment by ‘the traps ’ (the goldfield police).
  • (US, slang, informal, African American Vernacular English) A vehicle, residential building, or sidewalk corner where drugs are manufactured, packaged, or sold.
  • (slang, informal, pejorative) A person with male genitalia who can be mistaken for a female; a convincing transvestite or transwoman.
  • * '>citation
  • * '>citation
  • * '>citation
  • A kind of movable stepladder.
  • (Knight)
    Synonyms
    * snare
    Derived terms
    * activity trap * beartrap/bear trap * betrap * booby trap * bus trap * firetrap * fish-trap * honey trap * mantrap * mousetrap * offside trap * optical trap * radar trap * rattletrap * speed trap * tourist trap * trapdoor * (l)

    Verb

    (trapp)
  • To physically , to catch in a trap or traps, or something like a trap.
  • * {{quote-magazine, year=2013, month=July-August, author= Stephen P. Lownie], [http://www.americanscientist.org/authors/detail/david-m-pelz David M. Pelz
  • , magazine=(American Scientist), title= Stents to Prevent Stroke , passage=As we age, the major arteries of our bodies frequently become thickened with plaque, a fatty material with an oatmeal-like consistency that builds up along the inner lining of blood vessels. The reason plaque forms isn’t entirely known, but it seems to be related to high levels of cholesterol inducing an inflammatory response, which can also attract and trap more cellular debris over time.}}
  • To ensnare; to take by stratagem; to entrap.
  • * Dryden
  • I trapped the foe.
  • To provide with a trap.
  • To set traps for game; to make a business of trapping game; as, to trap for beaver.
  • To leave suddenly, to flee.
  • (US, slang, informal, African American Vernacular English) (slang) To sell narcotics, especially in a public area.
  • (computing) To capture (e.g. an error) in order to handle or process it.
  • Etymology 2

    (Trap rock) From (etyl) trapp, from .

    Noun

    (-)
  • A dark coloured igneous rock, now used to designate any non-volcanic, non-granitic igneous rock; trap rock.
  • Derived terms
    * trappean * trappous * trappy

    Etymology 3

    Akin to (etyl) .

    Verb

    (trapp)
  • To dress with ornaments; to adorn; said especially of horses.
  • * Spenser
  • to deck his hearse, and trap his tomb-black steed
  • * Tennyson
  • There she found her palfrey trapped / In purple blazoned with armorial gold.

    Etymology 4

    Shortening.

    Noun

    (en noun)
  • (slang, bodybuilding) trapezius (muscle)
  • Anagrams

    * part * prat * rapt * tarp ----

    steal

    English

    Verb

  • (lb) To take illegally, or without the owner's permission, something owned by someone else.
  • :
  • *
  • *
  • *:"I was dragged up at the workhouse school till I was twelve. Then I ran away and sold papers in the streets, and anything else that I could pick up a few coppers by—except steal'. I never did that. I always made up my mind I'd be a big man some day, and—I'm glad I didn't ' steal ."
  • To appropriate without giving credit or acknowledgement.
  • :
  • (lb) To get or effect surreptitiously or artfully.
  • :
  • *(Isaac Watts) (1674-1748)
  • *:Variety of objects has a tendency to steal away the mind from its steady pursuit of any subject.
  • *(Francis Bacon) (1561-1626)
  • *:Always, when thou changest thine opinion or course, profess it plainly,and do not think to steal it.
  • *
  • To acquire at a low price.
  • :
  • (lb) To draw attention unexpectedly in (an entertainment), especially by being the outstanding performer. Usually used in the phrase steal the show.
  • (lb) To move silently or secretly.
  • :
  • *1922 , (Virginia Woolf), (w, Jacob's Room) Ch.1:
  • *:"Did he take his bottle well?" Mrs. Flanders whispered, and Rebecca nodded and went to the cot and turned down the quilt, and Mrs. Flanders bent over and looked anxiously at the baby, asleep, but frowning. The window shook, and Rebecca stole like a cat and wedged it.
  • *{{quote-news, year=2011, date=October 23, author=Phil McNulty, work=BBC Sport
  • , title= Man Utd 1-6 Man City , passage=United's hopes of mounting a serious response suffered a blow within two minutes of the restart when Evans, who had endured a miserable afternoon, lost concentration and allowed Balotelli to steal in behind him. The defender's only reaction was to haul the Italian down, resulting in an inevitable red card.}}
  • To withdraw or convey (oneself) clandestinely.
  • *(Edmund Spenser) (c.1552–1599)
  • *:They could insinuate and steal themselves under the same by their humble carriage and submission.
  • *(William Shakespeare) (c.1564–1616)
  • *:He will steal himself into a man's favour.
  • To advance safely to (another base) during the delivery of a pitch, without the aid of a hit, walk, passed ball, wild pitch, or defensive indifference.
  • To dispossess
  • *{{quote-news, year=2011, date=February 12, author=Les Roopanarine, work=BBC
  • , title= Birmingham 1-0 Stoke , passage=However, until Gardner stole the ball from Dean Whitehead in the centre circle with the half-hour approaching, setting off on a run which culminated with a testing long-range shot - with debutant Obafemi Martins lurking, Begovic gathered at the second time of asking - Stoke looked the more credible contenders to break the deadlock.}}

    Synonyms

    * (to illegally take possession of) flog, (Cockney rhyming slang) half-inch, (slang) knock off, (slang) jack, lift, nick, pinch, pocket, rob, thieve, confiscate, convert * (to secretly move) sneak * See also

    Antonyms

    * (acquire licitly ) receive, purchase, buy, earn * (provide freely ) donate, bestow, grant

    Troponyms

    * shoplift

    See also

    * burglarize * burgle * confiscate * pickpocket * pilfer * steal away

    Noun

    (en noun)
  • The act of stealing.
  • A piece of merchandise available at a very attractive price.
  • At this price, this car is a steal .
  • (basketball, ice hockey) A situation in which a defensive player actively takes possession of the ball or puck from the opponent's team.
  • (baseball) A stolen base.
  • (curling) Scoring in an end without the hammer.
  • (computing) A policy in database systems that a database follows which allows a transaction to be written on nonvolatile storage before its commit occurs
  • Synonyms

    * (merchandise available at a very attractive price) bargain

    References