noun
trapdoor
TRAP-daw
noun
1
A hinged or sliding door set into a floor or ceiling.
"The stagehands used a trapdoor for the magician's sudden disappearance."
2
A hidden way of gaining unauthorized access to a computer system; a backdoor.
"The hacker exploited a trapdoor left in the software by its original developers."
How to Use Trapdoor
Learner’s notesIn plain EnglishA hidden door in a floor or ceiling, or by extension a hidden way into a computer system.
Easily confused with
backdoor
Word Forms
trapdoored past tense, trapdoors plural, trapdoors singular
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The stagehands used a _____ for the magician's sudden disappearance.
Etymology
A compound of trap and door.