Definitions

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.

  • noun A trap for large animals in which a heavy weight is arranged to fall on and kill or disable the prey.
  • noun A mass of fallen timber and tangled brush.

from The Century Dictionary.

  • noun A trap in which a weight is arranged to fall upon and crush the prey, used for large game.
  • noun A smaller trap for rats, etc., in which the fall is a loaded board.
  • noun A tangled mass of fallen trees and underbrush.
  • noun A low drinking- or gaming-place.

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

  • noun US A kind of trap for large animals, consisting of a heavy board or log that falls on to the prey.
  • noun deadwood
  • noun US, slang A cheap, rough saloon or bar.

Etymologies

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License

From dead + fall.

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Examples

  • But in heavy snow, when deadfall is buried and wet, a fire can be hard to spark and difficult to maintain.

    Learn Two Snow Shelters That Could Save Your Life 2005

  • But what made folks really nuts was when I didn't do this for the eider duck fall, and people complained of various things -- that the pacing was off, that they didn't like the duck, that the deadfall was a trap.

    The Image of the Undercity 2007

  • The deadfall was a big one, maybe two feet in diameter.

    Scott Free John Gilstrap 2003

  • The deadfall was a big one, maybe two feet in diameter.

    Scott Free John Gilstrap 2003

  • The deadfall was a big one, maybe two feet in diameter.

    Scott Free John Gilstrap 2003

  • The deadfall was a big one, maybe two feet in diameter.

    Scott Free John Gilstrap 2003

  • The deadfall was an obvious place to hide and it would be the first place Fletcher would investigate.

    Ride the Thunder Janet Dailey 1980

  • The deadfall was an obvious place to hide and it would be the first place Fletcher would investigate.

    Ride the Thunder Janet Dailey 1980

  • The deadfall was an obvious place to hide and it would be the first place Fletcher would investigate.

    Ride the Thunder Janet Dailey 1980

  • The deadfall was an obvious place to hide and it would be the first place Fletcher would investigate.

    Ride the Thunder Janet Dailey 1980

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