1 (cause to stumble) (intentionally) poner echar la zancadilla a;or (accidentally) hacer tropezar His trousers fell down, tripping him up and revealing bright red boxer shorts as he tried to run away Little Carl runs round my feet and all but trips me up Then he made a sudden dive for Uncle Jim's legs to try to trip him up
2 (cause to make a mistake) she tried to trip him up intentó que se equivocase que se confundiese;or
to trip sb up
the fourth question tripped him up la cuarta pregunta le hizo equivocarse le confundió;or
to trip sb up on sth They spent a hell of a lot of time cross-questioning me, getting statements, trying to trip me up on any nit-picking point Walden's brief was to box Kinnock into a corner and to trip him up
