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hostage

[hos-tij] / ˈhɒs tɪdʒ /
NOUN
person held captive until captor's demand is met
Synonyms
Antonyms


Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

Wordle even helped to end a 17-hour hostage ordeal and became the most Googled word of 2022.

From BBC • Mar. 30, 2026

Brendan O'Hara, vice chair of the all-parliamentary group for arbitrary detention and hostage affairs, previously told the BBC the Foremans were "innocent victims of a geopolitical power struggle".

From BBC • Mar. 26, 2026

Coyle, from Colorado, was arrested in January 2025, according to the Foley Foundation, which advocates for the release of Americans taken hostage or arbitrarily detained abroad.

From Barron's • Mar. 24, 2026

During the Iran hostage crisis, William Daugherty, a newly minted case officer in the CIA’s Directorate of Operations, was kept there, in a 4-foot-wide cell lit 24 hours by a dim, dangling bulb.

From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 23, 2026

I didn’t want to admit that I was being held hostage by my irrational mother.

From "The Red Umbrella" by Christina Gonzalez




Vocabulary lists containing hostage