Kidnapped

[kid-napt]

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR Kidnapped ON THESAURUS.COM

noun

a novel (1886) by Robert Louis Stevenson.

RELATED WORDS

shanghaied, seized, snatched

kidnap

[kid-nap]

verb (used with object), kid·napped or kid·naped, kid·nap·ping or kid·nap·ing.

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

Origin of kidnap

1675–85; kid¹ + nap, variant of nab

SYNONYMS FOR kidnap

seize, bear off, bear away.

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR kidnap ON THESAURUS.COM

Related formskid·nap·pee, kid·nap·ee, nounkid·nap·per, kid·nap·er, nounun·kid·naped, adjectiveun·kid·napped, adjective

Can be confusedhijack kidnap shanghai skyjack

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for kidnapped

Astiz had infiltrated the group by pretending to have a kidnapped brother.
How Pope Francis Became the World’s BFF|Jason Berry|December 21, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Just last year, over 200 Nigerian girls were kidnapped from their school by the radical Islamist group Boko Haram.
Promoting Girls’ Education Isn’t Enough: Malala Can Do More|Paula Kweskin|December 9, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Cvetkovich claimed her husband had kidnapped her two young children and took off for Oregon in search of Masters.
The Godfather of Right-Wing Radio|Caitlin Dickson|November 23, 2014|DAILY BEAST
He became paranoid that his bride would be kidnapped, and told her to never go to the same place twice.
Foxcatcher’s Real-Life Psycho Killer|Marlow Stern|November 18, 2014|DAILY BEAST

And VanDyke and Fischer had dinner with war correspondent Steven Sotloff mere weeks before he was kidnapped.
‘Point and Shoot’ Captures the Birth of a Warrior on Film|Lloyd Grove|October 31, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Miss Leece, in effigy, had been kidnapped in an instant, before David and his friends had had time to realize what had happened.
Grace Harlowe's Plebe Year at High School|Jessie Graham Flower
Blackwood kidnapped an article for his Magazine on the Frankenstein story, which I intended for you.
Memoirs of the Life of Sir Walter Scott, Volume V (of 10)|John Gibson Lockhart
Goodness, they are saying poor Bones Shadduck has been kidnapped!
The Boys of Columbia High on the Gridiron|Graham B. Forbes
But I had to get a better look at these jerks who'd kidnapped us.
Little Brother|Cory Doctorow
They have kidnapped two of you and carried you away into a desolate land where, for all we know, they meant to let you starve.
Riddle of the Storm|Roy J. Snell

British Dictionary definitions for kidnapped

kidnap

verb -naps, -napping or -napped or US -naps, -naping or -naped

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

Derived Formskidnapper or US kidnaper, nounkidnapping or US kidnaping, noun

Word Origin for kidnap

C17: kid 1 + obsolete nap to steal; see nab

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

Word Origin and History for kidnapped

kidnap

1680s, compound of kid (n.) "child" and nap "snatch away," variant of nab; originally "steal children to provide servants and laborers in the American colonies." Related: Kidnapped; kidnapping.

Kidnapped

noun

RELATED CONTENT

RELATED WORDS

kidnap

verb (used with object), kid·napped or kid·naped, kid·nap·ping or kid·nap·ing.

Origin of kidnap

Examples from the Web for kidnapped

kidnap

verb -naps, -napping or -napped or US -naps, -naping or -naped

Word Origin for kidnap

kidnap