11 PHRASE If someone tells you to shut your trap or keep your trap shut , they are telling you rudely that you should be quiet and not say anything. [INFORMAL , RUDE ]
trap|door /træ pdɔː r / (trapdoors ) also trap door N‑COUNT A trapdoor is a small horizontal door in a floor or a ceiling.
tra|peze /trəpiː z/ (trapezes ) N‑COUNT A trapeze is a bar of wood or metal hanging from two ropes on which people in a circus swing and perform skilful movements.
trapped /træ pt/
1 ADJ [usu v-link ADJ ] If you feel trapped , you are in an unpleasant situation in which you lack freedom, and you feel you cannot escape from it. □ [+ in ] …people who think of themselves as trapped in mundane jobs.
2 → see also trap
trap|per /træ pə r / (trappers ) N‑COUNT A trapper is a person who traps animals, especially for their fur.
trap|pings /træ p I ŋz/ N‑PLURAL The trappings of power, wealth, or a particular job are the extra things, such as decorations and luxury items, that go with it. [DISAPPROVAL ]
trash /træ ʃ/ (trashes , trashing , trashed )
1 N‑UNCOUNT [oft the N ] Trash consists of unwanted things or waste material such as used paper, empty containers and bottles, and waste food. [AM ] in BRIT, use rubbish 2 N‑UNCOUNT If you say that something such as a book, painting, or film is trash , you mean that it is of very poor quality. [INFORMAL ] □ Pop music doesn't have to be trash; it can be art.
3 VERB If someone trashes a place or vehicle, they deliberately destroy it or make it very dirty. [INFORMAL ] □ [V n] Would they trash the place when the party was over?
4 VERB If you trash people or their ideas, you criticize them very strongly and say that they are worthless. [mainly AM , INFORMAL ] □ [V n] People asked why the candidates spent so much time trashing each other.
5 → see also white trash
tra sh can (trash cans ) N‑COUNT A trash can is a large round container which people put their rubbish in and which is usually kept outside their house. [AM ] in BRIT, use dustbin
trashy /træ ʃi/ (trashier , trashiest ) ADJ If you describe something as trashy , you think it is of very poor quality. [INFORMAL , DISAPPROVAL ] □ I was reading some trashy romance novel.
trat|to|ria /træ təriː ə/ (trattorias ) N‑COUNT A trattoria is an Italian restaurant.
trau|ma /trɔː mə, [AM ] traʊ mə/ (traumas ) N‑VAR Trauma is a very severe shock or very upsetting experience, which may cause psychological damage. □ [+ of ] I'd been through the trauma of losing a house. □ The officers are claiming compensation for trauma after the disaster.
trau|mat|ic /trɔːmæ t I k, [AM ] traʊ-/ ADJ A traumatic experience is very shocking and upsetting, and may cause psychological damage. □ I suffered a nervous breakdown. It was a traumatic experience.
trau|ma|tize /trɔː məta I z, [AM ] traʊ -/ (traumatizes , traumatizing , traumatized ) in BRIT, also use traumatise VERB If someone is traumatized by an event or situation, it shocks or upsets them very much, and may cause them psychological damage. □ [be V -ed] I was traumatized by the experience. □ [V n] Did his parents traumatize him? □ [V n + with ] Traumatising a child with an abnormal fear of strangers probably won't do much good. □ [V -ed] …young children traumatised by their parents' deaths. ● trau|ma|tized ADJ □ He left her in the middle of the road, shaking and deeply traumatized.
trav|ail /træ ve I l, [AM ] trəve I l/ (travails ) N‑VAR You can refer to unpleasant hard work or difficult problems as travail . [LITERARY ] □ He did whatever he could to ease their travail. □ The team, despite their recent travails, are still in the game.
trav|el ◆◆◇ /træ v ə l/ (travels , travelling , travelled ) in AM, use traveling , traveled 1 VERB If you travel , you go from one place to another, often to a place that is far away. □ [V prep/adv] You had better travel to Helsinki tomorrow. □ [V ] I've been traveling all day. □ [V amount/n] Students often travel hundreds of miles to get here. □ [V + at ] I had been travelling at 150 kilometres an hour. □ [V -ing] He was a charming travelling companion. ● trav|el|ling N‑UNCOUNT □ I love travelling.
2 N‑UNCOUNT Travel is the activity of travelling. □ He detested air travel. □ …a writer of travel books.
3 VERB If you travel the world, the country, or the area, you go to many different places in the world or in a particular country or area. □ [V n] Dr Ryan travelled the world gathering material for his book.
4 VERB When light or sound from one place reaches another, you say that it travels to the other place. □ [V prep/adv] When sound travels through water, strange things can happen. □ [V + at ] Light travels at around 300,000,000 metres per second.
5 VERB When news becomes known by people in different places, you can say that it travels to them. □ [V adv/prep] News of his work traveled all the way to Asia.
6 N‑PLURAL [with poss, usu poss N ] Someone's travels are the journeys that they make to places a long way from their home. □ He also collects things for the house on his travels abroad.
7 → see also much-travelled , travelling , well-travelled