kidnap
Americanverb (used with object)
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kidnaps,
present (3rd person singular)
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kidnapped,
past participle, past
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kidnaped,
past participle, past
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kidnapping,
present participle
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kidnaping
present participle
verb
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
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kidnapeenoun
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kidnapernoun
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kidnappeenoun
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kidnappernoun
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kidnappingnoun
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unkidnapedadjective
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unkidnappedadjective
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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kidnapsimple
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kidnapssimple
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have kidnapedperfect
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have kidnappedperfect
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has kidnapedperfect
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has kidnappedperfect
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am kidnapingprogressive
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am kidnappingprogressive
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are kidnapingprogressive
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are kidnappingprogressive
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is kidnapingprogressive
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is kidnappingprogressive
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have been kidnapingperfect progressive
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have been kidnappingperfect progressive
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has been kidnapingperfect progressive
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has been kidnappingperfect progressive
Past
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kidnapedsimple
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kidnappedsimple
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had kidnapedperfect
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had kidnappedperfect
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was kidnapingprogressive
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was kidnappingprogressive
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were kidnapingprogressive
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were kidnappingprogressive
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had been kidnapingperfect progressive
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had been kidnappingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of kidnap
Explanation
To kidnap is to steal a person, or to hold someone as a prisoner until a ransom is paid. The original meaning of kidnap, dating from the late seventeenth century, was "steal children to provide servants to the American colonies," from kid, "child," and nap, "snatch away." After the particularly notorious Lindberg baby kidnapping in 1932, the U.S. Congress passed a law allowing the FBI to investigate all kidnappings. Today the word kidnap includes all abductions, of both children and adults.
Vocabulary lists containing kidnap
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
"I thought they were going to kidnap us. I ran to a taco stand to take cover with the people there," Medina told AFP.
From Barron's ● Feb. 22, 2026
At the same time, bald eagles were rumored to sometimes kidnap human babies and fly away with them in their talons.
From Slate ● Feb. 21, 2026
When Bin Salman first came to prominence as Saudi defense minister in 2015, he espoused a pugilistic foreign policy that saw him launch the unsuccessful offensive on the Houthis and kidnap Lebanon’s prime minister.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jan. 20, 2026
They immediately kidnap our 17-year-old daughter for a night of dancing, making sure to accompany her back to camp.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 28, 2025
Booth recruited Surratt into the conspiracy to kidnap the president, and soon became a frequent visitor to the boardinghouse, where he befriended Surratt’s widowed mother and his young sister, Anna.
From "Chasing Lincoln's Killer" by James L. Swanson
When a Frenchman kidnaps a woman from the rival town, his mother and her fellow villagers react with outrage and indignation, less at the abduction itself than at his apparent interest in a German woman.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jan. 14, 2026
The Ramayana depicts the victory of Hindu god Ram over the demon king Ravana after the latter kidnaps his wife, Sita.
From BBC ● Jun. 19, 2023
“This case shows that the Justice Department will be relentless in our efforts to track down anyone who kidnaps a U.S. citizen abroad,” Attorney General Merrick Garland said in a statement.
From Seattle Times ● May 10, 2022
Bernini leaves Pluto dazed, off-balance, faltering, reminding us that Cupid’s arrow kidnaps his agency, too.
From New York Times ● Mar. 29, 2022
Sarah and Jack and the clover elves are just about to celebrate their victory over the troll army when an ogre kidnaps Jack and sweeps him off to the hobgoblin king’s castle.
From "How to Disappear Completely" by Ali Standish
The Yavapai County Sheriff's Office identified the remains as that of Sharon Lee Gallegos, who was reported kidnaped on July 21, 1960, thanks to advanced DNA technology.
From Fox News ● Mar. 16, 2022
The multi-state search for her and the five-year search for who reportedly kidnaped her diverted resources from other cases, Shasta County Sheriff Michael Johnson said.
From Fox News ● Mar. 8, 2022
After his abduction, the Lebanese radio broadcast claims, Waite was kidnaped on suspicion of being an American spy.
From Time Magazine Archive
When eight West Germans were kidnaped by the contras a year ago, all volunteers were ordered out of war zones.
From Time Magazine Archive
"But whatever it means, it gives no explanation of why Tony and Shannon were kidnaped."
From The Pirates of Shan by Harold L. (Harold Leland) Goodwin
Nigeria's security forces have recorded a recent success in rescuing kidnapped victims.
From BBC ● Aug. 9, 2026
Farmer Yahuza Isa, who was kidnapped in Zamfara state, expressed the frustration shared by many victims.
From BBC ● Jul. 27, 2026
Following an ex-secret agent who is kidnapped by an unknown persecutor, Patrick McGoohan’s 1967 series creates a surreal atmosphere of surveillance that remains relevant today.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 30, 2026
This time around, Enola’s impending wedding is interrupted when she learns Sherlock’s been kidnapped and needs rescuing.
From MarketWatch ● Jun. 30, 2026
In France, a land of love affairs, this explanation—that the Mona Lisa was kidnapped by a would-be lover—seemed logical, maybe even inevitable.
From "The Mona Lisa Vanishes" by Nicholas Day
Pankey’s attorney, Anthony Viorst, countered that prosecutors’ circumstantial evidence, Pankey’s overbearing personality and his obsession with “true crime” mysteries is not enough to convict him of kidnaping and murder.
From Seattle Times ● Oct. 13, 2021
The Foleys also said some responsibility lies with American members of the media who failed to continue reporting on Foley's kidnaping, letting it fall out of the news cycle.
From US News ● Feb. 26, 2015
Press and government frenzy over hostages during the Carter and Reagan administrations probably encouraged kidnaping.
From Time Magazine Archive
Agca also accused Propaganda Due, a / secret Italian Masonic lodge, of the 1983 kidnaping of the 15-year-old daughter of a Vatican employee in hopes of winning Agca's freedom through a prisoner exchange.
From Time Magazine Archive
He had never been quite sure about Major de Coverley, either, who, when he was not away renting apartments or kidnaping foreign laborers, had nothing more pressing to do than pitch horseshoes.
From "Catch-22" by Joseph Heller
Authorities stressed they have not confirmed that claim and continue to investigate the case as an active kidnapping.
From Salon ● Aug. 1, 2026
US television star journalist Savannah Guthrie made an emotional appeal Saturday for anyone with information about her mother's disappearance to come forward, saying "we are begging for help" six months after the kidnapping took place.
From Barron's ● Aug. 1, 2026
Six males were arrested between 4 February and 21 March in relation to the alleged kidnapping.
From BBC ● Jun. 25, 2026
For many of the countries involved, the State Department has issued travel advisories recommending that Americans do not travel to them, citing the danger of kidnapping, crime, terrorism and civil unrest.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 25, 2026
“Do you remember reading in the paper of the Armstrong kidnapping case?”
From "Murder on the Orient Express" by Agatha Christie
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.
