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Showing results for hostage. Search instead for hostname.
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.

See Examples For:

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

Or that the domestic-romantic subplot dropped into the middle of hostage negotiations doesn’t make for an inelegant construction.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 8, 2026

Fleur Delacour, though she demonstrated excellent use of the Bubble-Head Charm, was attacked by grindylows as she approached her goal, and failed to retrieve her hostage.

From "Harry Potter And The Goblet Of Fire" by J. K. Rowling

Relatives of hostages formerly held by Hamas have also been caught in the crosshairs.

From Barron's ● Oct. 24, 2026

The commission reviewed more than 10,000 photographs and video segments and collected more than 430 testimonies and interviews with survivors, witnesses, former hostages, experts and family members.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 14, 2026

Former hostages held in Gaza and their family members have written bestselling books and released music albums.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 8, 2026

The last living hostages from Nir Oz were returned to Israel on 13 October 2025 and the remains of the last deceased hostage, Amiram Cooper, were brought back two weeks later.

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other hand, John Donvan conceded that there is a limit to living in the past—to hostaging yourself, for instance, to outdated agreements and other generations’ crimes.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


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