Caltrop
//ˈkæltɹəp// noun, slang
noun, slang ·Moderate ·High school level
Definitions
Noun
- 1 A metal object, usually small, with spikes arranged so that, when thrown onto the ground, one always faces up as a threat to pedestrians, horses, and vehicles (also used as a heraldic charge).
"[…] her father, the emperor Alexius, who reigned AD 1081-1118, ordered caltrops to be cast in front of his archers […]"
- 2 Mediterranean annual or biennial herb having pinkish to purple flowers surrounded by spine-tipped scales; naturalized in America wordnet
- 3 The starthistle, Centaurea calcitrapa, a plant with sharp thorns. colloquial
- 4 a plant of the genus Trapa bearing spiny four-pronged edible nutlike fruits wordnet
- 5 Any of a number of flowering plants in the family Zygophyllaceae, including several members of the genus Kallstroemia and the species Tribulus terrestris, native to warm temperate and tropical regions.
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- 6 tropical annual procumbent poisonous subshrub having fruit that splits into five spiny nutlets; serious pasture weed wordnet
Example
More examples"[…] her father, the emperor Alexius, who reigned AD 1081-1118, ordered caltrops to be cast in front of his archers […]"
Etymology
From Middle English calketrappe, from Old English calcatrippe, from Medieval Latin calcatrippa (“thistle”), from Latin calx or calcare (“to tread”) + trappa (“trap”).
Related phrases
More for "caltrop"
Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.