hostage
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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The idea is to avoid being held hostage by a major market correction or, worse, a recession by being forced to withdraw money during a down market.
From MarketWatch ● Oct. 28, 2026
This one is very real: a kind of Vision 2.0, rebuilt by the intelligence agency tasked with saving the New Jersey town Wanda took hostage to shore up her classic family sitcom simulation.
From Salon ● Oct. 23, 2026
It helps you draw boundaries without being held hostage to accusations of selfishness.
From MarketWatch ● Oct. 8, 2026
We hold the most exceptional things among us hostage to the average, the ordinary, the mediocre.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 8, 2026
The Killing House was a fake—a mock-up of an embassy used to train the SAS in the art of hostage release.
From "Stormbreaker" by Anthony Horowitz
The ceasefire saw thousands of Palestinians held by Israel released in return for all of the 48 remaining hostages held in Gaza, and an agreement to end the war.
From BBC ● Nov. 1, 2026
Embassy in Tehran and seized American hostages, 52 of whom it held for 444 days.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 27, 2026
He said they’re “devaluing the power of the food reward”—and because they never phase it out, clients are forever forced to bribe their canines in return for civility, like hostages to a chew-toy-loving despot.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 27, 2026
However, with 20 houses renovated or rebuilt, a few former hostages have come back to live here.
From BBC ● Oct. 7, 2026
Two of Dany’s favorite hostages served the food and kept the cups filled—a doe-eyed little girl called Qezza and a skinny boy named Grazhar.
From "A Dance with Dragons" 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other hand, John Donvan conceded that there is a limit to living in the past—to hostaging yourself, for instance, to outdated agreements and other generations’ crimes.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
Chapter 21: Age of Exploration and Trade
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This Week in Words: Current Events Vocabulary for March 18–March 24, 2023
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"I Go Along" and "Theme for English B"
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