hostage

[ hos-tij ]

/ ˈhɒs tɪdʒ /

Save This Word!

See synonyms for hostage on Thesaurus.com

noun

a person given or held as security for the fulfillment of certain conditions or terms, promises, etc., by another.

Archaic. a security or pledge.

Obsolete. the condition of a hostage.

verb (used with object), hos·taged, hos·tag·ing.

to give (someone) as a hostage: He was hostaged to the Indians.

QUIZ

CAN YOU ANSWER THESE COMMON GRAMMAR DEBATES?

There are grammar debates that never die; and the ones highlighted in the questions in this quiz are sure to rile everyone up once again. Do you know how to answer the questions that cause some of the greatest grammar debates?

Question 1 of 7

Which sentence is correct?

His boss, whom he admires, is waiting to meet with him about the big project.

His boss, who he admires, is waiting to meet with him about the big project.

TAKE THE QUIZ TO FIND OUT

Origin of hostage

1225–75; Middle English <Old French hostage (h- by association with (h)ostehost²), ostage ≪ Vulgar Latin *obsidāticum state of being a hostage <Latin obsid- (stem of obses) hostage (equivalent to ob-ob- + sid-sit¹) + -āticum-age

OTHER WORDS FROM hostage

hos·tage·ship, noun

Words nearby hostage

hospital train, hospitium, hospodar, host, hosta, hostage, host computer, hostel, hosteler, hosteller, hostelling

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use hostage in a sentence

Pelosi has insisted for months that state and local aid would be in any final bill, but as time is running out, Democrats appear unwilling to hold the rest of the package hostage over the demand.
The next round of stimulus will likely lose support for state and local governments|Rachel Schallom|December 15, 2020|Fortune
Living in Rio is like “being a hostage to violence,” says Rafael César, who lives in the neighborhood of Cordovil, west of the city.
The apps keeping Rio’s residents safe from stray bullets|Niall Firth|November 26, 2020|MIT Technology Review
In it, he argues that conversations—at least the really hard ones—are too important to entrust solely to traditional “professionals” like facilitators, mediators, psychologists, or hostage negotiators.
Hard conversations need great design|claychandler|November 24, 2020|Fortune
The threat to Democratic unity is as much from within as it is from outside, however, with slim margins potentially empowering rival blocs inside the Democratic ranks to band together and hold legislation hostage.
‘We’re in the foxhole together’: House Democrats reckon with a diminished majority|Mike DeBonis|November 23, 2020|Washington Post

This August, the final captives held hostage by Somali pirates were finally released after an excruciatingly long captivity.
Piracy is thriving off the coast of West Africa despite COVID nearly crushing global marine traffic|kdunn6|November 20, 2020|Fortune
They took cover inside a print works to the north east of Paris, where they held a member of staff as a hostage.
France Kills Charlie Hebdo Murderers|Nico Hines|January 9, 2015|DAILY BEAST
France 24's coverage of two developing hostage situations in Paris on Friday.
LIVE Coverage of the Paris Terror Attacks||January 9, 2015|DAILY BEAST
The camera passes to each hostage in turn to allow them to plead with the Lebanese government to let them live.
A Sunni-Shia Love Story Imperiled by al Qaeda|Ruth Michaelson|December 26, 2014|DAILY BEAST
As a cafe in Sydney, Australia came under siege by a hostage-taking gunman on Monday, those nearby attempted to flee the area.
In Defense of Uber’s Awful Sydney Surge Pricing|Olivia Nuzzi|December 16, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Two hostages are dead and 15 others free after an Islamic radical took them hostage before police killed him.
Jihadi Siege in Sydney Ends in Gunfight|Courtney Subramanian, Lennox Samuels, Chris Allbritton|December 15, 2014|DAILY BEAST
She was held as a hostage in Jamestown in an effort to restore peace between the Indians and the English.
Hallowed Heritage: The Life of Virginia|Dorothy M. Torpey
I am summoned hither, so I come, but it may be necessary to secure a hostage for my safe conduct outside the walls again.
The Red Year|Louis Tracy
The chiefs, in retiring from the conference, took with them Captain Trevor as a hostage.
The History of England in Three Volumes, Vol.III.|E. Farr and E. H. Nolan
Vehement the words of Wise, who imagined that the Yankees had seized one of his children as a hostage for himself.
The Boys of '61|Charles Carleton Coffin.
With such a town, and such a hostage, all Asiatic Siberia must necessarily fall into the hands of the invaders.
Michael Strogoff|Jules Verne

British Dictionary definitions for hostage

hostage

/ (ˈhɒstɪdʒ) /

noun

a person given to or held by a person, organization, etc, as a security or pledge or for ransom, release, exchange for prisoners, etc

the state of being held as a hostage

any security or pledge

give hostages to fortune to place oneself in a position in which misfortune may strike through the loss of what one values most

Word Origin for hostage

C13: from Old French, from hoste guest, host 1

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

hostage

Origin of hostage

OTHER WORDS FROM hostage

Words nearby hostage

Words related to hostage

How to use hostage in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for hostage

Word Origin for hostage