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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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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 was an agreement to end the war, triggered by the Hamas-led attack on Israel on 7 October 2023, when about 1,200 people were killed and 251 taken hostage.

From BBC ● 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

So he faced his father, and kept his head held high as he said, “Perrington wishes to use Nehemia as some sort of hostage in order to make the Eyllwe rebels obey.”

From "Throne of Glass" by Sarah J. Maas

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

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

The ceasefire saw thousands of Palestinians held by Israel released in return for the remaining hostages held in Gaza.

From BBC ● Oct. 8, 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

Amongst the stream of warriors were the fathers of many of Jon’s hostages.

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other hand, John Donvan conceded that there is a limit to living in the past—to hostaging yourself, for instance, to outdated agreements and other generations’ crimes.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