ransom

It’s not a king’s ransom, but hey, it’s free money.

From MarketWatch ● Sep. 16, 2026

When she awakens in a hospital room two days later, there’s been no ransom note, no explanation about where she went or why.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 9, 2026

It would take a huge offer to persuade them otherwise and Manchester United's powerbrokers have proved on numerous occasions this summer they will not be held to ransom, or overpay, for players.

From BBC ● Aug. 25, 2026

Plummer’s Getty is imperious and withholding, refusing to pay the ransom for his kidnapped grandson and seemingly puzzled that anyone would expect him to.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 20, 2026

Besides this, they had used every means to spare themselves and their soldiers fear and hardship, not killing each other in their scuffles, but instead taking each other prisoner without demanding ransom.

From "The Prince" by Niccolò Machiavelli

It was definitely not cheap paying off these pirates, whether it was ransoms or tariffs.

From Salon ● Jul. 4, 2026

It is illegal to pay ransoms in Nigeria, but analysts say payments by desperate families, intermediaries or, in some cases, state authorities have fuelled the abductions.

From BBC ● Jun. 7, 2026

It is a lucrative money-spinner but the government consistently denies paying ransoms.

From BBC ● Nov. 29, 2025

Paying ransoms has been made illegal in Nigeria, although there are allegations this ban has been widely ignored.

From BBC ● Nov. 29, 2025

The King of England had ordered that there were to be no ransoms in hit sort of battle.

From "The Once and Future King" by T. H. White

King Richard was captured on his way back from the Middle East and ransomed for 150,000 silver marks—approximately three times the annual income of the English Crown.

From Barron's ● Mar. 19, 2026

This was frightening news, but Olena had heard that the Russians sometimes ransomed detainees for cash.

From Los Angeles Times ● Feb. 24, 2024

After two were released for medical reasons and three others ransomed by a third party for an undisclosed amount, the remaining 12 went free Dec. 16 after what they described as an overnight escape.

From Seattle Times ● Oct. 14, 2022

This thriller — in which a flight attendant is on a plane to Sydney when her 5-year-old daughter is ransomed — is notable for its capacity to get into the heads of its characters.

From New York Times ● Mar. 11, 2022

After twelve years among the Southern Hsiung-nu, Ts’ai Yen was ransomed and married to Tung Ssu so that her father would have Han descendants.

From "The Woman Warrior" by Maxine Hong Kingston

The Talmud, a set of commentaries on the Torah, specifically condones ransoming of hostages as a communal responsibility, and many ancient scholars considered being hostage a fate worse than death.

From Seattle Times ● Dec. 4, 2023

Experts say the trend towards ransoming sensitive private information could affect companies not just operationally but through reputation damage.

From BBC ● Mar. 30, 2021

Beric also promises to reunite Arya with her mother and brother in Riverrun, albeit by ransoming her off.

From The Verge ● Apr. 25, 2019

Simone’s situation sounds dramatic enough to hold an episode of “Homeland” — in fact, the ransoming of Carrie Mathison’s top-secret computer files drove a plot point on the Showtime series last season.

From Fox News ● Oct. 12, 2018

This is not fair to Rogers; he was entirely within his rights in sacking and ransoming Guayaquil, as a subject of a Power at war with Spain, and armed with a commission from his sovereign.

From Privateers and Privateering by E. P. Statham