Pitfall
noun ·Moderate ·College level
Definitions
- 1 A potential, unsuspected, hidden problem, hazard, or danger that is easily encountered but not immediately obvious. figuratively
"It's usually a simple task, but you should know the pitfalls before you attempt it yourself."
- 2 a trap in the form of a concealed hole wordnet
- 3 A type of trap consisting of a concealed pit in the ground, which the victim is supposed to fall into and not be able to get out from.
- 4 an unforeseen or unexpected or surprising difficulty wordnet
- 5 An antipattern.
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- 6 Subsidence below ground in a mine, which can cause the ground level above to drop.
"This pitfall, beginning in February and finishing in May, resulted in a drop of about 3 ft. in the platform level; during this period it was necessary to level the track three times weekly, and impose a service slack of 15 m.p.h. The subsidence appears now to have finished, and normal speed is once again permitted."
Example
More examples"The specimen was caught in a pitfall trap sunk in the ground."
Etymology
First recorded use in the 14th century from pit + fall in the sense of "pit trap, pit snare", from Old English fealle (“trap, snare”), from Proto-Germanic *fallą, *fallaz (“a fall, trap”), from Proto-Indo-European *(s)pōl-. Cognate with German Falle (“trap, snare”).
Related phrases
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Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.