hostage

hostage — noun

1. a person whom someone takes by force and keeps as a prisoner, so that people or

1.nounB2
Definition

a person whom someone takes by force and keeps as a prisoner, so that people or organizations who care about that person will do what the kidnapper demands

Example

The gang said they would release the hostages only after the government paid the ransom.

collocation: release a hostage / hold someone hostage

Thieves took three bank customers hostage and locked them in the vault.

pattern: take + person + hostage

Common collocations
  • take someone hostage
  • hold someone hostage
  • release a hostage
  • hostage crisis
  • hostage situation
  • hostage negotiator
  • hostage taker
Synonyms
  • captive

    broader term; anyone held against their will, not necessarily as leverage for demands

  • prisoner

    person confined, especially after arrest or conviction; does not imply that demands must be met for release

  • pawn

    figurative; someone used by others as a tool in a larger situation, weaker and more metaphorical than 'hostage'

Antonyms
  • captor

    the person or group holding the hostage

  • negotiator

    someone who works to free hostages through discussion, not force

Grammar Patterns

take + person + hostage

hold + person + hostage

be held/taken hostage

release a hostage

Usage Note

Commonly appears in the verb phrase structures 'take someone hostage' and 'hold someone hostage.' The passive forms ('was taken hostage,' 'were held hostage') are very frequent in news reporting. The plural form 'hostages' is used when referring to multiple captives.

Common Mistakes

The kidnappers kept him as a prisoner for ransom.
The kidnappers kept him as a hostage for ransom.
A 'prisoner' is someone legally detained after arrest; a 'hostage' is held specifically to force others to meet demands.
The police took the robber hostage during the chase.
The robber took a bank clerk hostage during the chase.
The hostage-taker is the grammatical subject; you take someone else hostage, not yourself.
Idioms

a hostage to fortune

idiom

Something you own or have promised that might create problems later.

Buying that old house became a hostage to fortune for Maya.

Did his promise to help become a hostage to fortune?

Word family

  • hostage-taker
    nounC1
  • hostage-taking
    nounC1

Synonym discussion

Sense: noun/1

Hostage, captive, and prisoner all describe someone who cannot leave freely, but the context and implications differ. A hostage is taken and held as leverage — someone else must give in to demands for the hostage to go free. A captive is anyone held against their will, with a stronger emotional tone of powerlessness; it can apply to people or even animals. A prisoner is someone confined, usually after a legal conviction or in a military setting (prisoner of war). While hostages are taken to force others to act, prisoners are held as punishment or for security. For example: 'The rebels held three hostages for ransom' focuses on the demand; 'The soldiers were taken captive' describes the state of capture; 'The prisoner was released after serving ten years' refers to a legal sentence.

hostage ↗captive ↗prisoner ↗

Common collocations

Nouns

  • hostage crisis
  • hostage situation
  • hostage negotiator
  • hostage taker
  • hostage deal

Phrases

  • take someone hostage
  • hold someone hostage
  • release a hostage
  • free the hostages

Prepositions

  • as a hostage
  • hostage to

Etymology

LatinFrenchEnglish

Hostage comes from Old French 'ostage,' which developed from Late Latin 'obsidaticum' — meaning the condition of being held as a pledge. The Latin root 'obses' literally described a person placed with an enemy as a guarantee that a promise would be kept. The modern spelling was later influenced by the unrelated word 'host.'