pitfall
UK/ˈpɪtfɔːl//ˈpɪtfɔl/
pitfall noun: 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.
Noun
pitfall (plural pitfalls)
- 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.
- Synonyms:
- trapping pit
- 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.
- Synonyms:
- trap
- An antipattern.
- Synonyms:
- antipattern, dark pattern
- 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...1939 June, “Pertinent Paragraphs: Pitfalls”, in Railway Magazine, page 456
Verb
pitfall (third-person singular simple present pitfalls, present participle pitfalling, simple past and past participle pitfalled)
pitfall meaning in Tamil, Urdu, Malayalam and Kannada
pitfall in Tamil
- pitfall, trap, kheda, as for catching elephants
- படுகுழி paṭukuḻi
pitfall in Urdu
- چور گڑھا, گڑھا, کھائی, خطرہ
pitfall in Malayalam
- അന്ധകൂപം, അബദ്ധം, പോരായ്മ, കെണി, വിപത്ത്
pitfall in Kannada
- ಮುಗ್ಗು, ಗುಂಡಿ, ಎಡಹುಗುಳಿ
More languagesFewer languages
- pitfall in Persian
- مشکل moškel, خطر xatar
Examples of pitfall in a sentence
- When pitfalling in dry areas, birds and other animals soon learn where to get a drink.
- But always with my future as Nicholas's illustration of moral pitfalling possibilities.
- Saying lines without thinking is a pitfall actors need to avoid, not seek out.
Synonyms of pitfall
- trapping pit
- trap
- antipattern
- dark pattern
Forms of pitfall
| Noun | |
|---|---|
| plural | pitfalls |
| Verb | |
| third-person singular present | pitfalls |
| present participle | pitfalling |
| past participle | pitfalled |
| past | pitfalled |
Origin of pitfall
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”).
Words formed from pitfall
Questions about pitfall
- What does pitfall mean?
- Pitfall means 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.
- What is pitfall in Tamil?
- Pitfall in Tamil is படுகுழி (paṭukuḻi). See Pitfall meaning in Tamil.
- What part of speech is pitfall?
- Pitfall can be a noun or a verb.
- How do you pronounce pitfall?
- Pitfall is pronounced /ˈpɪtfɔːl/ (UK).
- What is the plural of pitfall?
- The plural of pitfall is pitfalls.
Words near pitfall in the dictionary
Source and license
Adapted from Wiktionary: pitfall (page history and authors); படுகுழி (Tamil) (page history and authors); pitfall (Urdu Wiktionary) (page history and authors); pitfall (Malayalam Wiktionary) (page history and authors); pitfall (Kannada Wiktionary) (page history and authors). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.
Last updated:
Pronunciation audio from Wikimedia Commons, each file under its own free license: en-us-pitfall.ogg.
Cite this entry: “pitfall.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/pitfall. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.