kidnap
Americanverb (used with object)
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kidnaps,
present (3rd person singular)
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kidnapped,
past participle, past
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kidnaped,
past participle, past
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kidnapping,
present participle
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kidnaping
present participle
verb
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
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kidnapeenoun
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kidnapernoun
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kidnappeenoun
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kidnappernoun
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kidnappingnoun
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unkidnapedadjective
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unkidnappedadjective
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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kidnapsimple
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kidnapssimple
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have kidnapedperfect
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have kidnappedperfect
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has kidnapedperfect
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has kidnappedperfect
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am kidnapingprogressive
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am kidnappingprogressive
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are kidnapingprogressive
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are kidnappingprogressive
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is kidnapingprogressive
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is kidnappingprogressive
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have been kidnapingperfect progressive
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have been kidnappingperfect progressive
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has been kidnapingperfect progressive
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has been kidnappingperfect progressive
Past
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kidnapedsimple
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kidnappedsimple
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had kidnapedperfect
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had kidnappedperfect
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was kidnapingprogressive
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was kidnappingprogressive
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were kidnapingprogressive
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were kidnappingprogressive
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had been kidnapingperfect progressive
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had been kidnappingperfect progressive
Future
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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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.
See Examples For:
Wrote another, of the scammers: They “basically psychologically kidnap you.”
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 9, 2026
"I thought they were going to kidnap us. I ran to a taco stand to take cover with the people there," Medina told AFP.
From Barron's ● Feb. 22, 2026
At the same time, bald eagles were rumored to sometimes kidnap human babies and fly away with them in their talons.
From Slate ● Feb. 21, 2026
Wright's legal team had argued that there was insufficient evidence of an attempted kidnap, but a judge ruled against them.
From BBC ● Feb. 4, 2026
By late 1864, Booth had hatched the risky plan to kidnap President Lincoln.
From "Chasing Lincoln's Killer" by James L. Swanson
When a Frenchman kidnaps a woman from the rival town, his mother and her fellow villagers react with outrage and indignation, less at the abduction itself than at his apparent interest in a German woman.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jan. 14, 2026
The Ramayana depicts the victory of Hindu god Ram over the demon king Ravana after the latter kidnaps his wife, Sita.
From BBC ● Jun. 19, 2023
“This case shows that the Justice Department will be relentless in our efforts to track down anyone who kidnaps a U.S. citizen abroad,” Attorney General Merrick Garland said in a statement.
From Seattle Times ● May 10, 2022
“Anyone, including federal law enforcement, who unlawfully assaults and kidnaps people will face criminal charges from my office,” said the district attorney, Larry Krasner.
From New York Times ● Jul. 20, 2020
Sarah and Jack and the clover elves are just about to celebrate their victory over the troll army when an ogre kidnaps Jack and sweeps him off to the hobgoblin king’s castle.
From "How to Disappear Completely" by Ali Standish
The Yavapai County Sheriff's Office identified the remains as that of Sharon Lee Gallegos, who was reported kidnaped on July 21, 1960, thanks to advanced DNA technology.
From Fox News ● Mar. 16, 2022
The multi-state search for her and the five-year search for who reportedly kidnaped her diverted resources from other cases, Shasta County Sheriff Michael Johnson said.
From Fox News ● Mar. 8, 2022
But when two West Germans were kidnaped in Beirut a few days after Hamadei's arrest, the government began temporizing.
From Time Magazine Archive
In early 1985 the CIA was desperate to rescue William Buckley, its station chief in Beirut who had been kidnaped.
From Time Magazine Archive
Neither he nor Scotty believed in flying saucers—at least, not in saucers that kidnaped people, and the object Rick had seen had not been saucer-like.
From The Flying Stingaree by Harold L. (Harold Leland) Goodwin
He has described himself as a "prisoner of war" and said the US military kidnapped him.
From Barron's ● Oct. 8, 2026
US journalist Austin Tice, who disappeared in Syria in 2012, was kidnapped in a calculated operation which was more than a month in the planning, the BBC can reveal.
From BBC ● Sep. 17, 2026
The “Today” show co-host during Tuesday’s broadcast shared a desperate message to those who kidnapped 84-year-old Nancy Guthrie from her Tuscon home in February.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 15, 2026
When one of Christopher’s cohorts is kidnapped and held for ransom, he and the former princess Anya Argen embark on a desperate quest to complete the kidnappers’ challenges and win their friend’s safety.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 2, 2026
“You’re not being kidnapped, Miss Podgórska. I know you already think I’m a blackmailer.”
From "The Light in Hidden Places" by Sharon Cameron
Pankey’s attorney, Anthony Viorst, countered that prosecutors’ circumstantial evidence, Pankey’s overbearing personality and his obsession with “true crime” mysteries is not enough to convict him of kidnaping and murder.
From Seattle Times ● Oct. 13, 2021
The Foleys also said some responsibility lies with American members of the media who failed to continue reporting on Foley's kidnaping, letting it fall out of the news cycle.
From US News ● Feb. 26, 2015
But U.S. officials considered Gonzalez trustworthy: as Jalisco's top homicide detective for Guadalajara, Gonzalez had been investigating the Camarena kidnaping and the disappearance of six other Americans in recent months.
From Time Magazine Archive
Both women had told police complex kidnaping stories.
From Time Magazine Archive
He had never been quite sure about Major de Coverley, either, who, when he was not away renting apartments or kidnaping foreign laborers, had nothing more pressing to do than pitch horseshoes.
From "Catch-22" by Joseph Heller
The defence says the militia group staged an illegal kidnapping when diplomatic negotiations stalled, in a process which showed "an utter disregard for Libyan law and sovereignty."
From BBC ● Oct. 12, 2026
A team from the Journal abruptly left Baghdad this month after Iraqi, U.S. and European officials warned of a security threat that American officials later said was a kidnapping risk by a Shiite militia.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 30, 2026
Police have appealed to residents to report suspicious activity and security concerns as efforts continue to identify the victims and determine whether the remains are connected to unresolved kidnapping cases in the region.
From BBC ● Sep. 28, 2026
Not long after, after townsfolk thwarted an attempted kidnapping of a local grower, hundreds of people gathered in the sun-bleached central plaza and drafted a communique.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 6, 2026
A snitch helped to expose the kidnapping plot.
From "George Washington, Spymaster" by Thomas B. Allen
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