kidnap
Americanverb (used with object)
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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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.
See Examples For:
"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
Beijing would seek to extradite or kidnap him if he were deported to a third country.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jan. 28, 2026
The Crown Prosecution Service indicated it would not proceed with the kidnap charges against the pair and that those alleged offences would lie on file.
From BBC ● Aug. 19, 2025
Before the end of the supper his father and brothers came back, but they did not kidnap him for a wet cheer.
From "Walk Two Moons" by Sharon Creech
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
A changeling is what a fairy or demon or troll leaves behind when it kidnaps a human baby.
From New York Times ● Sep. 15, 2023
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
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
In Baltimore last week, the twosome said that they had been kidnaped by Kim Jong Il, 45, the son of North Korea's strongman Kim Il Sung, 74.
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
Now, I am quite certain if Philip or Conrad had been kidnaped, that Lucy and Mary would be a great deal too sensible to act in this silly way.
From A Little Mother to the Others by Meade, L. T.
This time around, Enola’s impending wedding is interrupted when she learns Sherlock’s been kidnapped and needs rescuing.
From MarketWatch ● Jun. 30, 2026
The most common backstory is that Adora was kidnapped by Hordak as an infant and raised on the planet Etheria as a member of his Evil Horde.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 5, 2026
Another 251 were kidnapped and held in captivity in the Gaza Strip, including men, women, children, and foreign nationals.
From BBC ● May 12, 2026
So when your relative calls claiming they’ve been kidnapped, you’ll know to hang up if they can’t name your first pet.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 19, 2026
Between finding out I was kidnapped, that my dad may be a criminal, and that I have a mom and a twin brother, I never got a chance to tell JP what’s going on.
From "The Manifestor Prophecy" by Angie Thomas
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
The U.S. has also resorted to kidnaping of a sort, most famously during the 1985 midair interception of the Achille Lauro hijackers by fighter planes.
From Time Magazine Archive
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
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
But Mexican authorities remain convinced that U.S. officials outsourced the kidnapping and rendition of Zambada, who has pleaded guilty to smuggling-related charges and awaits sentencing in the United States.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 22, 2026
Adedoja and Bakas were found not guilty of attempted kidnapping.
From BBC ● May 14, 2026
"What they used to say is that under the law it's classified as kidnapping but it isn't kidnapping because she's my mum," he said.
From BBC ● May 13, 2026
Sometimes, though, the birds recruit new helpers by kidnapping other groups’ young.
From Slate ● May 10, 2026
Young Till allegedly made the ugly remarks to Mrs. Bryant, wife of the storekeeper who faces a kidnapping charge.
From "Mississippi Trial, 1955" by Chris Crowe
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.
