Speakur

Word Pronunciation & Dictionary

elephant trap

/ˈɛləfənt ˌtɹæp/

Word Rarity Rare

Frequency: Zipf frequency 3.89 in modern English

Syllables
ele-phant trap
IPA
/ˈɛləfənt ˌtɹæp/
19
Scrabble Score
12
Letters
2
Syllables
8
Unique Chars

Meaning

noun

A trap which can easily be avoided by a competent person, and thus proves the incompetence of anybody trapped by it.

noun

Often in the form Elephant Trap: a faulty attempt by White to win a pawn in a popular variation of the Queen's Gambit Declined, which is generally only effective against inexperienced players.

Example Sentences

Etymology

From elephant + trap, alluding to the fact that a trap for an elephant needs to be quite large, and so ought to be easily seen.

Regional Pronunciation

  • American English: /ˈɛləfənt ˌtɹæp/
  • British English: /ˈɛlɪf(ə)nt ˌtɹæp/

Inflected Forms

elephant traps (plural)

Questions

How do you pronounce elephant trap?
The recorded pronunciation is /ˈɛləfənt ˌtɹæp/.
What does elephant trap mean?
A trap which can easily be avoided by a competent person, and thus proves the incompetence of anybody trapped by it.
Where does elephant trap come from?
From elephant + trap, alluding to the fact that a trap for an elephant needs to be quite large, and so ought to be easily seen.

How to pronounce elephant trap

  1. Open the pronunciation page — Open the Speakur entry for “elephant trap”.
  2. Read the phonetic spelling — Read the IPA spelling (/ˈɛləfənt ˌtɹæp/) so you know which sounds to aim for.
  3. Play the audio — Click Play to hear reference audio for “elephant trap”.
  4. Repeat and practice — Say “elephant trap” aloud, matching stress and vowels until it feels natural.