captive audience

Idioms and Phrases

Listeners or onlookers who have no choice but to attend. For example, It's a required course and, knowing he has a captive audience, the professor rambles on endlessly . This expression, first recorded in 1902, uses captive in the sense of “unable to escape.”

Example Sentences

Asian slapstick humor does not translate well, and most of the captive audience agreed, although they grudgingly watched it.

From The Daily Beast

There's a captive audience for TV shows starring people who horrify us with their behavior.

From The Daily Beast

At its heart is a business model that keeps Jewish citizens a captive audience.

From The Daily Beast

“This is kind of a captive audience,” explained Sgt. Sean Whitcomb.

From The Daily Beast

The SOTU is the biggest captive audience Obama will have before the ax is due to fall March 1.

From The Daily Beast

Happiness lifted some of the gloom from his face as he realized that he had a captive audience who would listen to his troubles.

From Project Gutenberg

He thought sourly to himself: "I'm a captive audience without even an interest in the production tricks."

From Project Gutenberg

As you can see, I dearly love a lecture—and a captive audience.

From Project Gutenberg

In exchange for his generosity he intended to get some information from his captive audience.

From Project Gutenberg