pitfall.
A type of trap consisting of a concealed pit in the ground, into which the victim is supposed to fall and not be able to get out from.
Meaning & usage
A type of trap consisting of a concealed pit in the ground, into which the victim is supposed to fall and not be able to get out from.
A potential, unsuspected, hidden problem, hazard, or danger that is easily encountered but not immediately obvious.
It's usually a simple task, but you should know the pitfalls before you attempt it yourself.
An antipattern.
Subsidence below ground in a mine, which can cause the ground level above to drop.
Where this word comes from
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”).
To trap, snare, or ensnare someone or something.
Where this word comes from
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”).
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Definitions, grammatical labels, IPA, etymology and examples: Wiktionary contributors, extracted by Kaikki / Wiktextract. Adapted under CC BY-SA 4.0. Selected fields and authored examples are shown; third-party quotations and audio are omitted. See contributor history.
Last enriched 2026-09-10. Definitions are in English. Romanizations are shown when supplied by the source; syllable estimates are omitted for unsupported scripts.