captor

[ kap-ter ]

noun

1. a person who has captured a person or thing.

captor

/ ˈkæptə /

noun

1. a person or animal that holds another captive

Word History and Origins

Origin of captor¹

1640–50; < Late Latin, equivalent to cap ( ere ) to take + -tor -tor

Word History and Origins

Origin of captor¹

C17: from Latin, from capere to take

Example Sentences

I gave my captors 150 more days, but I will not focus my energies on that.

From Washington Blade

Often, victims accompany captors without a struggle because they fear retaliation against relatives.

From ProPublica

Once “returned home,” she recorded videos on her phone that describe her mistreatment by the captors hired by her father.

From Ozy

At the Ouija board, Jones and Hill would regale their captors with a tale, seem­ingly channeled from the Beyond, designed to make them delirious enough to lead the pair out of Yozgad, a prisoner-of-war camp high in the mountains.

From The Daily Beast

I’m sure it’s very easy for the oppressor to smile, because they have all the power, and when you see a smile, you may try to mirror it in order to become synchronized with your captor.

From Washington Post

Innuendo: Two “punishers” strip down and start to seduce Theon as part of the mindgames enacted by his captor.

From The Daily Beast

These are not adversaries, or captor and his incarcerated captive.

From The Daily Beast

Good Morning America anchor Juju Chang asked Smart how she had found the courage to testify against her captor Mitchell.

From The Daily Beast

The novel, about a mother and son imprisoned by a mysterious captor, seems tailor-made for crossover success.

From The Daily Beast

Reading his letter, I thought of the famous exchange between the Confederate soldier and his Yankee captor.

From The Daily Beast

I managed to lift it a bit to escape further bruises as my captor roughly hauled me to the forest.

From Project Gutenberg

Richard could see now that the captive was indeed a woman, that she was struggling in the arms of her captor.

From Project Gutenberg

While the younger girls cried helplessly, Boone's daughter, seeing it was of no use to struggle, quietly followed her captor.

From Project Gutenberg

He was still suffering from hunger and longed for the return of his captor, for he thought he would bring food with him.

From Project Gutenberg

His captor hardly knew how to take this sally, or what answer to make to it.

From Project Gutenberg

Related Words

• detainer
• holder
• impounder
• imprisoner
• incarcerator
• jailer