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Definitions

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.

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It helps you draw boundaries without being held hostage to accusations of selfishness.

From MarketWatch ● Oct. 8, 2026

The postboxes for each household bear stickers put there after the attacks three years ago: red indicates those killed, and black those taken hostage.

From BBC ● Oct. 7, 2026

The mission involved the office of Adam Boehler, the administration’s special envoy for hostage response, according to the U.S. officials.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 1, 2026

If a 63-hour hostage siege sounds tiresome, it certainly can be.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 17, 2026

The whole castle, from Lady Stark to the lowliest kitchen scullion, knew he was hostage to his father's good behavior, and treated him accordingly.

From "A Clash of Kings" by George R.R. Martin

This anniversary of the attacks is the first with no hostages remaining in Gaza.

From BBC ● Oct. 7, 2026

The last live hostages were freed a year ago as part of a US-brokered ceasefire deal in which Hamas stopped firing into Israel.

From Barron's ● Oct. 7, 2026

“Once he became Middle East envoy and was given responsibility for the hostages, he became one of the most famous people in Israel overnight,” an Israeli journalist who has covered him told me.

From Slate ● Jul. 22, 2026

Burns helped burnish Gannon’s credentials, personally telling the prince that the operative was the American in the room as Israel negotiated with Hamas to release its hostages in the aftermath of the Oct.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 19, 2026

Only half the realm, the release of our captives, hostages, his father’s sward . . . oh, yes, and his sisters.

From "A Clash of Kings" by George R.R. Martin

On the other hand, John Donvan conceded that there is a limit to living in the past—to hostaging yourself, for instance, to outdated agreements and other generations’ crimes.

From Slate ● Jan. 11, 2012

In their minds, hostaging means trading -- and trading means talking.

From Time Magazine Archive

Q. Have you expressed that view of hostaging to President Bush?

From Time Magazine Archive




Vocabulary lists containing hostage


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