abduct

American  

[ab-duhkt] / æbˈdʌkt /

verb (used with object)

• abducts,
  present (3rd person singular)
• abducted,
  past participle,  past
• abducting
  present participle

1. to carry off or lead away (a person) illegally and in secret or by force, especially to kidnap.

2. Physiology. to move or draw away from the axis of the body or limb (opposed to adduct).

---

abduct British  

/ æbˈdʌkt /

verb

1. to remove (a person) by force or cunning; kidnap

2. (of certain muscles) to pull (a leg, arm, etc) away from the median axis of the body Compare adduct

---

Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• abductor
  noun
• unabducted
  adjective

Inflected Forms

Participles

• abducting
  present
• abducted
  past

Conjugated Forms

Present

• abduct
  simple
• abducts
  simple
• have abducted
  perfect
• has abducted
  perfect
• am abducting
  progressive
• are abducting
  progressive
• is abducting
  progressive
• have been abducting
  perfect progressive
• has been abducting
  perfect progressive

Past

• abducted
  simple
• had abducted
  perfect
• was abducting
  progressive
• were abducting
  progressive
• had been abducting
  perfect progressive

Future

• will abduct
  simple
• will have abducted
  perfect
• will be abducting
  progressive
• will have been abducting
  perfect progressive

Etymology

Origin of abduct

1825–35; < Latin abductus, past participle of abdūcere to abduce

Compare meaning

How does abduct compare to similar and commonly confused words? Explore the most common comparisons:

• abduct vs. adduct

Explanation

To abduct someone is to commit the crime of kidnapping person and holding them for ransom. Being abducted is one of the worst things that can happen to you. Fortunately, it's very rare. To abduct is to kidnap — to take someone against their will and imprison them. After an abduction, the abductors (kidnappers) may send a ransom note, asking for money.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

abduct abducts abducted abducting

Chris Pine shows off his surprising fluency in Italian in this film about a pesky tween who convinces an aimless young woman to abduct her.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 16, 2026

And hey, did you know that the word “raptor”—which is often used to describe birds of prey—comes from the Latin verb rapio, which means to plunder, rob, ravish, or abduct?

From Slate ● Feb. 21, 2026

The Pet Abduction Bill, brought forward by Conservative MP Anna Firth, will make it a specific offence to abduct a pet in England and Northern Ireland.

From BBC ● Mar. 2, 2024

The first attempt to abduct Dot, for example, closely mirrors the sequence in the Coens’ “Fargo” where Jean Lundegaard has her morning routine disrupted by intruders, though Dot proves far more capable of defending herself.

From New York Times ● Dec. 5, 2023

It was hardly surprising then that we assumed the woods would be central in the plot to abduct Miss Geraldine.

From "Never Let Me Go" by Kazuo Ishiguro

She climbs on his back, whereupon the deceitful Zeus abducts her, bearing her westward across the waters toward Crete.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 21, 2026

Stree 2, a horror-comedy about a mysterious woman battling a monster who abducts free-thinking women, was the year's second-biggest hit, playing in cinemas for months.

From BBC ● Dec. 28, 2024

When the witch returns on that date and abducts Nevena — having rendered her mute in infancy — the young woman embarks on an astonishing, shape-shifting journey of death and discovery.

From New York Times ● Mar. 31, 2022

An Arab chieftain abducts a U.S. widow and her children; President Theodore Roosevelt sends the Marines.

From Los Angeles Times ● Feb. 19, 2021

Instead of doing the one natural thing, Don Manuel abducts his sweetheart during the night, with her consent, and takes her to a garden in Messina.

From The Life and Works of Friedrich Schiller by Calvin Thomas

“Maybe you just fell in with the wrong crowd and got abducted by aliens,” Neiden says.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 18, 2026

The actor stars in a series on MGM+ about a man in 1970s Indianapolis who abducted a mortgage lender and discussed it live on air.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 17, 2026

In fact, scores of American citizens have been abducted off the street and detained.

From Salon ● Aug. 6, 2026

More than 300 people abducted in separate attacks in Nigeria have been rescued, the country's presidency says, in what it describes as its largest single-day operation by joint security forces.

From BBC ● Aug. 6, 2026

I wished I knew how to make Diego believe me; I wished the aliens had abducted him, too, so we could have watched the stars together.

From "We Are the Ants" by Shaun David Hutchinson

The monk had appeared at a magistrate's hearing to support military intelligence officers accused of abducting Prageeth Eknaligoda, whose cartoons were critical of former president Mahinda Rajapaksa.

From Barron's ● Sep. 10, 2026

However security is handled, there will be no ICE officers surveying the crowd with facial-recognition software and abducting people for unstated reasons.

From Salon ● Jun. 11, 2026

We’ve all seen the appalling videos of masked agents ambushing and abducting these migrants in the halls of New York’s immigration court as they’re leaving a hearing.

From Slate ● Mar. 27, 2026

Police allege that Kajal's brothers attempted to mislead them by lodging a missing complaint about her on 20 January, accusing Arman of abducting her.

From BBC ● Feb. 3, 2026

“Before that wight died, he told us why they’ve been abducting so many ymbrynes. They’re going to force them to re-create the reaction that made the hollows in the first place—only bigger. Much bigger.”

From "Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children" by Ransom Riggs

Related Words

• kidnap
• seize
• snatch