captive audience

Idioms  

1. 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.”

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Example Sentences

“Most artists will never have a platform like this — a captive audience of 125,000, an open sky, no walls.”

From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 10, 2026

The streaming wars peaked during the pandemic, with Americans a captive audience for two years.

From The Wall Street Journal • Feb. 14, 2026

“If we go for a walk, he’s a captive audience, but it’s been below zero here. So sometimes, I’ll interrupt ‘Jeopardy,’” she said.

From MarketWatch • Feb. 10, 2026

Whereas the Whitney we have a captive audience since more of our customers are coming and going from the museum.

From Salon • Dec. 4, 2024

Though she has acquired a taste for classical music over the years—“it’s like learning to appreciate a stinky cheese”—she’s been a not-always-delighted captive audience for many of my marathon rehearsals.

From "If I Stay" by Gayle Forman