kidnap
Americanverb (used with object)
verb
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of kidnap
Explanation
To kidnap is to steal a person, or to hold someone as a prisoner until a ransom is paid. The original meaning of kidnap, dating from the late seventeenth century, was "steal children to provide servants to the American colonies," from kid, "child," and nap, "snatch away." After the particularly notorious Lindberg baby kidnapping in 1932, the U.S. Congress passed a law allowing the FBI to investigate all kidnappings. Today the word kidnap includes all abductions, of both children and adults.
Vocabulary lists containing kidnap
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This Week in Words: Current Events Vocab for September 21–September 27, 2024
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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 Kidnap Murder Case” is real, simon-pure Van Dine, and that should be good enough for anybody.
From New York Times • Oct. 21, 2021
The "Kidnap" star went on to encourage her social media followers to go after their goals.
From Fox News • Nov. 8, 2019
Rounding out the top five was Aviron's Halle Berry-led thriller "Kidnap," which came in above its modest $8-million projection, raking in $10.2 million in its first week.
From Los Angeles Times • Aug. 6, 2017
That leaves "Kidnap" -- from David Dinerstein's recently-launched Aviron, and Lotus -- which is racing to $10.2 million from 2,378 locations.
From Reuters • Aug. 6, 2017
The prevalent and apparently the only important theories which are current to explain this belief in changelings may be designated as the Kidnap Theory and the Human-Sacrifice Theory.
From The Fairy-Faith in Celtic Countries by Wentz, W. Y. Evans
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
