Synonyms

kidnap

American

[kid-nap] / ˈkɪd næp /

verb (used with object)

kidnapped, kidnaped, kidnapping, kidnaping

to steal, carry off, or abduct by force or fraud, especially for use as a hostage or to extract ransom.

Synonyms:

seize

kidnap British

/ ˈkɪdnæp /

verb

(tr) to carry off and hold (a person), usually for ransom

"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

Other Word Forms

kidnapee noun
kidnaper noun
kidnappee noun
kidnapper noun
kidnapping noun
unkidnaped adjective
unkidnapped adjective

Etymology

Origin of kidnap

1675–85; kid ¹ + nap, variant of nab

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.

The 1974 political kidnapping of newspaper heiress Patricia Hearst was front-page news for a year and a half — her abduction, then her announcement that she was joining her captors, then her discovery, arrest, and prosecution.

From Los Angeles Times

But police insisted she left for Mexico of her own accord and was not kidnapped.

From Los Angeles Times

The interior ministry's spokesman said in November that it had investigated 42 alleged kidnappings, and found all but one were "false".

From BBC

A glove discovered as part of the investigation into Nancy Guthrie's kidnapping has produced no DNA matches, authorities in Pima County, Arizona, say.

From BBC

The goal, he said, is to "dramatically grow" Venezuelan oil production, improve the lives of Venezuelans, and reduce the "criminal and migration and kidnapping" threats on the United States.

From Barron's

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023