Entrap Someone Into Doing vs. Entrap Someone To Do
Oxford directly documents “entrap somebody into doing something” in the legal sense of tricking and encouraging someone to commit an act so they can be arrested. The cited entry directly supports into + -ing in that legal sense; it does not establish entrap + object + to-infinitive as an equivalent complement pattern.
Use “entrap someone into doing” for the directly documented legal construction; do not infer equal support for “entrap someone to do.”
Key details
Choose the right form
| Meaning / situation | Form / construction | Decision |
|---|---|---|
| legal sense: trick or induce a person into an act so the person can be caught | entrap + person + into + -ing | Use the directly documented legal construction. |
| trying to form an equivalent with a to-infinitive | entrap + person + to + verb | Do not present this as equally supported by the reviewed entry. |
Quick tests
Meaning / construction test
Are you expressing the documented legal sense of inducing someone into committing an act?
If yes: Use “entrap someone into doing something.”
If no: Do not infer “entrap someone to do” as an interchangeable complement from this evidence.
Caveat: The source supports the “into + -ing” legal construction; this guide does not broaden that evidence into a general claim about every figurative use of “entrap.”
Examples
The defense argued that the officer entrapped him into committing the offence.
The sentence uses the directly documented into + -ing legal pattern.
They claimed the suspect had been entrapped into taking part.
The passive form retains the “into + -ing” complement.
The allegation was that agents entrapped her into making the transaction.
The participant is explicit and the act follows “into.”
Further guidance
Boundary
The cited entry directly supports into + -ing in that legal sense; it does not establish entrap + object + to-infinitive as an equivalent complement pattern.
Construction
Oxford directly documents “entrap somebody into doing something” in the legal sense of tricking and encouraging someone to commit an act so they can be arrested.
Decision
Use “entrap someone into doing” for the directly documented legal construction; do not infer equal support for “entrap someone to do.”
Sources and evidence
Sources are shown with the role they play in this guide. Historical or style-sensitive claims are kept within the evidence boundary described above.
- entrap verb — Oxford Advanced Learner’s Dictionary (opens in a new tab)Oxford Learner’s Dictionaries · Oxford learner-dictionary evidence directly documenting entrap + object + into + -ing in the legal sense