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

Having narrowly escaped a would-be captor, Raquel remains haunted by her near fate.

Read more on Los Angeles Times

When Teddy and Don abduct Michelle and hold her captive in their basement, the movie turns into a bizarre thriller, one in which the captors’ demands can never be met because those demands are insane.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

When asked what he felt about his captors, he said: "It will take two generations to bring some sanity in them and they need a sane leadership."

Read more on Barron's

Three months later, they said a released hostage who spent time with him in a tunnel had told them how he had acted as a "spokesman to the captors" and "lifted everyone's spirits".

Read more on BBC

His captors, who need him alive as a bargaining chip in negotiations with the Israeli government, fear that local civilians would lynch an Israeli if they saw one.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

Related Words

• detainer 
• holder 
• jailer