abduct
verb (used with object)
to carry off or lead away (a person) illegally and in secret or by force, especially to kidnap.
had abducted
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past perfectof abduct.past perfect
Used to express a completed action that took place before another specific past action occurred.
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.
Bovino’s men encountered a Spanish-speaking man who claimed to be an American citizen; his father had abducted him as a two-year-old and taken him to Mexico.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jan. 29, 2026
Maddox represented Tawana Brawley, a Black teenager who claimed that a group of white men had abducted and raped her in 1987.
From Seattle Times ● Apr. 25, 2023
Her father, Anthony, told Dateline NBC in May he believed someone had abducted his daughter.
From Fox News ● Aug. 28, 2021
Kim Jong Il — Kim Il Sung’s son and successor — admitted that North Korea had abducted 13 Japanese citizens and announced that five, including Soga, Jenkins’ wife, would be released.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 13, 2017
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
