Definify.com

Webster 1913 Edition

Pitfall

Pit′fallˊ

,

Noun.

A pit deceitfully covered to entrap wild beasts or men; a trap of any kind.

Sir T. North.

Webster 1828 Edition

Pitfall

PIT'FALL

,

Noun.

A pit slightly covered for concealment, and intended to catch wild beasts or men.

PIT'FALL

,

Verb.

T.

To lead into a pitfall.

Definition 2024

pitfall

pitfall

English

Noun

pitfall ‎(plural pitfalls)

A potential 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.
A type of trap consisting of a concealed hole in the ground: victims fall into the hole and are unable to escape.
(computing) An anti-pattern.

Translations

potential problem, hazard, or danger

Chinese:
Mandarin: 陷阱 (zh) ‎(xiànjǐng)
Danish: faldgrube c, fælde c
Dutch: valkuil (nl)
Finnish: sudenkuoppa; vaara (fi), riski (fi)
French: écueil (fr) m, piège (fr) m
German: Fallstrick (de) m
Hungarian: verem (hu), csapda (hu), kelepce (hu)
Japanese: 落とし穴 ‎(おとしあな, otoshiana), 落し穴 ‎(おとしあな, otoshiana), 落穴 ‎(おとしあな, otoshiana)

Norwegian:

Bokmål: fallgruve m, f

Nynorsk: fallgruve f
Persian: مشکل (fa) ‎(moškel), خطر (fa) ‎(xatar)
Portuguese: cilada (pt) f
Russian: лову́шка (ru) f ‎(lovúška), западня́ (ru) f ‎(zapadnjá), подво́дные ка́мни m pl ‎(podvódnyje kámni) (underwater stones, reefs)
Spanish: obstáculo (es) m, trampa (es) f
Swedish: fälla (sv) c, fallgrop c

type of trap

Esperanto: enfalujo
Finnish: ansakuoppa

Maori: pokereti

anti-pattern — see antipattern

Synonyms

(potential problem, hazard, or danger): trap
(computing: anti-pattern): anti-pattern, dark pattern

Derived terms

pitfalled