the redemption of a prisoner or kidnapped person, of captured goods, etc., for a price.
the sum or price paid or demanded.
a means of deliverance or rescue from punishment for sin, especially the payment of a redemptive fine.
to redeem from captivity, bondage, detention, etc., by paying a demanded price.
to release or restore on receipt of a ransom.
to deliver or redeem from punishment for sin.
the release of captured prisoners, property, etc, on payment of a stipulated price
the price demanded or stipulated for such a release
rescue or redemption of any kind
to keep (prisoners, property, etc) in confinement until payment for their release is made or received
to attempt to force (a person or persons) to comply with one's demands
a very large amount of money or valuables
to pay a stipulated price and so obtain the release of (prisoners, property, etc)
to set free (prisoners, property, etc) upon receiving the payment demanded
to redeem; rescue
Christ ransomed men from sin
What does ransom mean? A ransom is the money or goods demanded to be paid in exchange for the release of a captured or kidnapped person or piece of property. Ransom also commonly refers to the amount of money that the captor demands. It can also refer to such an exchange or the act of releasing a person or property for a price, as in The duke’s ransom depended on his wife gathering all the money demanded. Ransom can also be used as a verb meaning to get a person or property released by paying a price, as in I had to ransom my toy from the bully for $10. It can also mean to release a captive after receiving a ransom, as in Each prisoner was ransomed for $500. Less commonly, ransom can be used in a religious context to mean to redeem or deliver someone from punishment for sin, as Christians believe Jesus did. A person who holds someone in exchange for a ransom is called a ransomer. Ransomware is software that is illegally put on a computer and prevents users from accessing their data without paying a ransom. Example: The kidnapper demanded a hefty ransom before he released the princess to her father.
See redeem.
First recorded in 1150–1200; Middle English noun ranso(u)n, rançoun, from Old French rançon, reançon from Late Latin redēmptiōn- (stem of redēmptiō ) redemption; verb derivative of the noun
If you’re ever kidnapped, you’d probably be worth millions in ransom. Ransom is the money demanded for the release of a captive. You’ve probably heard the phrase “held for ransom.” That means someone has been captured and is being held prisoner until a sum of money is delivered to the captors. Ransom can refer to the money paid, but it can also be a verb that describes paying for the release of someone being held. If you have to ransom your best friend, that means you’re paying his captors to release him.
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Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
A ransom note sent electronically falls under the jurisdiction of federal law enforcement.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 2, 2026
The sheriff’s office asked anyone with information about Nancy Guthrie’s disappearance or the ransom notes to contact investigators, saying even seemingly minor details could prove significant as the search continues.
From Salon ● Aug. 1, 2026
For months, The Times and other outlets have released portions of the ransom notes based on information from law enforcement sources, but Friday marked the first time the letters were fully made public.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 31, 2026
The Pima County Sheriff's Department has not commented on the contents of any apparent ransom notes, but the department said their investigation "remains active and ongoing".
From BBC ● Jul. 27, 2026
BEIDERMAN, then pasted them onto an envelope, laying them out like the ransom notes he always imagined getting if someone were to steal Franz or Paganini.
From "The Vanderbeekers of 141st Street" by Karina Yan Glaser
“The reason I wanted to sell is that I felt I was not the best person to carry the company into the 21st century,” said Ransom, who added he has no regrets about the deal.
From MarketWatch ● Jul. 10, 2026
“It is encouraging to see the strategic initiatives we put in place at the start of this year driving an improved performance,” Chief Executive Andy Ransom said.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Mar. 5, 2026
Raymond James analyst John Ransom wrote in September that Oscar executives had told him that it “sees limited utility in a one-year reprieve.”
From Barron's ● Oct. 8, 2025
Mrs McKay's grandson, Mark Dyer, told the BBC the family was inspired by the Mel Gibson movie Ransom to make a last-ditch attempt to solve the mystery.
From BBC ● Jun. 11, 2025
A great football, track, and baseball star, Sam Ransom, traveled all the way from Minneapolis to sign up with the Eighth, and a track star, Binga Dismond, left his medical school studies to enlist.
From "A Few Red Drops: The Chicago Race Riot of 1919" by Claire Hartfield
It was definitely not cheap paying off these pirates, whether it was ransoms or tariffs.
From Salon ● Jul. 4, 2026
A 2022 law criminalised the payment of ransoms, but enforcement is difficult and families often resort to paying to secure the release of relatives.
From BBC ● Feb. 24, 2026
Details about the release of the 100 schoolchildren remain unclear, including whether it was secured through negotiation or by force, and whether any ransoms were paid.
From BBC ● Dec. 8, 2025
In fact, it is illegal to pay ransoms in Nigeria.
From BBC ● Nov. 29, 2025
"Knights and lordlings, they take each other captive and pay ransoms, but they don't care if the likes of you yield or not."
From "A Clash of Kings" by George R.R. Martin
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
He was eventually freed, returned to Gambia, and ransomed fellow Muslims who were enslaved.
From Washington Post ● Nov. 18, 2021
They were only there a short time, though; one morning two other brothers arrived under a peace banner with a chest of gold, and ransomed them from the knights who'd cap-tured them.
From "A Clash of Kings" by George R.R. Martin
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
Heinkel and Borelli are accused in a lawsuit filed in California Superior Court in late March of improperly impounding Bird’s scooters and then ransoming them back to the $2 billion company.
From The Verge ● Jul. 24, 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
At the time of the second Punic war the gentes united for the purpose of ransoming their captured gentiles.
From The Origin of the Family, Private Property and the State by Engels, Friedrich
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
