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.

Thirty-one civilians held hostage following a Sunday morning church attack in north-west Nigeria have been rescued, the army has said.

From BBC • Apr. 6, 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

Melancholy held me hostage and the bees built a hive of sadness in my soul.

From "Chains" by Laurie Halse Anderson