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.

Some Nigerians welcomed U.S. intervention, citing their own government’s failure to make headway against terrorism and banditry since the kidnapping of the Chibok girls more than a decade ago.

From The Wall Street Journal

However, the Catholic Church said on Thursday that about 35 students who either escaped or had not been abducted in the first place did not show up for a headcount immediately after the kidnapping.

From Barron's

Families of those killed or kidnapped are leading the protests to demand an independent investigation.

From The Wall Street Journal

Nigeria's federal government described the latest release as a "moment of triumph and relief", after one of the country's worst mass kidnappings.

From BBC

Washington has accused Venezuela of using oil money to fund drug-related crime, while Venezuela has described the tanker seizures as "theft and kidnapping".

From BBC

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