Jump To:

• ransom
  ransom

  noun

  the redemption of a prisoner or kidnapped person, of captured goods, etc., for a price.
• Ransom
  Ransom

  noun

  John Crowe 1888–1974, U.S. poet, critic, and teacher.

ransom

¹ American  

[ran-suhm] / ˈræn səm /

noun

• ransoms
  plural

1. the redemption of a prisoner or kidnapped person, of captured goods, etc., for a price.

   Synonyms:

   release, liberation, deliverance

2. the sum or price paid or demanded.

3. a means of deliverance or rescue from punishment for sin, especially the payment of a redemptive fine.

---

verb (used with object)

• ransoms,
  present (3rd person singular)
• ransomed,
  past participle,  past
• ransoming
  present participle

1. to redeem from captivity, bondage, detention, etc., by paying a demanded price.

2. to release or restore on receipt of a ransom.

3. to deliver or redeem from punishment for sin.

Ransom ² American  

[ran-suhm] / ˈræn səm /

noun

1. John Crowe 1888–1974, U.S. poet, critic, and teacher.

---

ransom ¹ British  

/ ˈrænsəm /

noun

1. the release of captured prisoners, property, etc, on payment of a stipulated price

2. the price demanded or stipulated for such a release

3. rescue or redemption of any kind

4. 1. to keep (prisoners, property, etc) in confinement until payment for their release is made or received

   2. to attempt to force (a person or persons) to comply with one's demands

5. a very large amount of money or valuables

---

verb

1. to pay a stipulated price and so obtain the release of (prisoners, property, etc)

2. to set free (prisoners, property, etc) upon receiving the payment demanded

3. to redeem; rescue

   Christ ransomed men from sin

Ransom ² British  

/ ˈrænsəm /

noun

1. John Crowe . 1888–1974, US poet and critic

---

ransom Idioms  

1. see king's ransom.

---

Usage

What does ransom mean? A ransom is the money or goods demanded to be paid in exchange for the release of a captured or kidnapped person or piece of property. Ransom also commonly refers to the amount of money that the captor demands. It can also refer to such an exchange or the act of releasing a person or property for a price, as in The duke’s ransom depended on his wife gathering all the money demanded. Ransom can also be used as a verb meaning to get a person or property released by paying a price, as in I had to ransom my toy from the bully for $10. It can also mean to release a captive after receiving a ransom, as in Each prisoner was ransomed for $500. Less commonly, ransom can be used in a religious context to mean to redeem or deliver someone from punishment for sin, as Christians believe Jesus did. A person who holds someone in exchange for a ransom is called a ransomer. Ransomware is software that is illegally put on a computer and prevents users from accessing their data without paying a ransom. Example: The kidnapper demanded a hefty ransom before he released the princess to her father.

Synonym Usage

See redeem.

Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• ransomer
  noun
• unransomed
  adjective

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• ransoms
  plural

Participles

• ransoming
  present
• ransomed
  past

Conjugated Forms

Present

• ransom
  simple
• ransoms
  simple
• have ransomed
  perfect
• has ransomed
  perfect
• am ransoming
  progressive
• are ransoming
  progressive
• is ransoming
  progressive
• have been ransoming
  perfect progressive
• has been ransoming
  perfect progressive

Past

• ransomed
  simple
• had ransomed
  perfect
• was ransoming
  progressive
• were ransoming
  progressive
• had been ransoming
  perfect progressive

Future

• will ransom
  simple
• will have ransomed
  perfect
• will be ransoming
  progressive
• will have been ransoming
  perfect progressive

Etymology

Origin of ransom

First recorded in 1150–1200; Middle English noun ranso(u)n, rançoun, from Old French rançon, reançon from Late Latin redēmptiōn- (stem of redēmptiō ) redemption; verb derivative of the noun

Explanation

If you’re ever kidnapped, you’d probably be worth millions in ransom. Ransom is the money demanded for the release of a captive. You’ve probably heard the phrase “held for ransom.” That means someone has been captured and is being held prisoner until a sum of money is delivered to the captors. Ransom can refer to the money paid, but it can also be a verb that describes paying for the release of someone being held. If you have to ransom your best friend, that means you’re paying his captors to release him.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

ransom Ransom ransoms ransomed ransoming

It’s not a king’s ransom, but hey, it’s free money.

From MarketWatch ● Sep. 16, 2026

Kai Wegner said officials would not cave in to the ransom demand, which came on Thursday evening.

From BBC ● Aug. 28, 2026

She arbitrates among the parties, first for outright dismissal and then for a more reasonable, so to speak, ransom.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 25, 2026

Ramírez secured a large ransom payment, but the death of al-Azmarly seems to have soured the terrorist’s relationship with Libya’s dictator, Moammar Gadhafi.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 24, 2026

“I’ve just delivered Lord Fredrick Ashton to the humble cottage he’s paid a king’s ransom to rent. I trust that meets with your approval, governess.”

From "The Hidden Gallery" by Maryrose Wood

“It’s important to get out of the way of the business. Stop being the owner. Get out of their hair and find something else to do,” said Ransom, who volunteers with the U.S.

From MarketWatch ● Jul. 10, 2026

“It is encouraging to see the strategic initiatives we put in place at the start of this year driving an improved performance,” Chief Executive Andy Ransom said.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Mar. 5, 2026

Raymond James analyst John Ransom wrote in September that Oscar executives had told him that it “sees limited utility in a one-year reprieve.”

From Barron's ● Oct. 8, 2025

Mrs McKay's grandson, Mark Dyer, told the BBC the family was inspired by the Mel Gibson movie Ransom to make a last-ditch attempt to solve the mystery.

From BBC ● Jun. 11, 2025

A great football, track, and baseball star, Sam Ransom, traveled all the way from Minneapolis to sign up with the Eighth, and a track star, Binga Dismond, left his medical school studies to enlist.

From "A Few Red Drops: The Chicago Race Riot of 1919" by Claire Hartfield

It was definitely not cheap paying off these pirates, whether it was ransoms or tariffs.

From Salon ● Jul. 4, 2026

It is illegal to pay ransoms in Nigeria, but analysts say payments by desperate families, intermediaries or, in some cases, state authorities have fuelled the abductions.

From BBC ● Jun. 7, 2026

It is a lucrative money-spinner but the government consistently denies paying ransoms.

From BBC ● Nov. 29, 2025

In fact, it is illegal to pay ransoms in Nigeria.

From BBC ● Nov. 29, 2025

The King of England had ordered that there were to be no ransoms in hit sort of battle.

From "The Once and Future King" by T. H. White

King Richard was captured on his way back from the Middle East and ransomed for 150,000 silver marks—approximately three times the annual income of the English Crown.

From Barron's ● Mar. 19, 2026

After a nearby hospital is hacked and ransomed, the higher-ups decide to defend its system by shutting it down, which means business must be conducted in the old-fashioned, paper-and-clipboards way.

From Los Angeles Times ● Mar. 5, 2026

After two were released for medical reasons and three others ransomed by a third party for an undisclosed amount, the remaining 12 went free Dec. 16 after what they described as an overnight escape.

From Seattle Times ● Oct. 14, 2022

When Lele Pons was 5 years old, she and her mother, who is Italian and a pediatrician, were kidnapped and ransomed, a common occurrence in some parts of Latin America.

From Washington Post ● Oct. 2, 2019

I never distinguished myself again, and each defeat meant the loss of another charger arid another suit of jousting armor, which must needs he ransomed or replaced.

From "A Clash of Kings" by George R.R. Martin

The Talmud, a set of commentaries on the Torah, specifically condones ransoming of hostages as a communal responsibility, and many ancient scholars considered being hostage a fate worse than death.

From Seattle Times ● Dec. 4, 2023

Experts say the trend towards ransoming sensitive private information could affect companies not just operationally but through reputation damage.

From BBC ● Mar. 30, 2021

Heinkel and Borelli are accused in a lawsuit filed in California Superior Court in late March of improperly impounding Bird’s scooters and then ransoming them back to the $2 billion company.

From The Verge ● Jul. 24, 2019

Simone’s situation sounds dramatic enough to hold an episode of “Homeland” — in fact, the ransoming of Carrie Mathison’s top-secret computer files drove a plot point on the Showtime series last season.

From Fox News ● Oct. 12, 2018

Though Greeks, Romans, Jews and Christians spent money in ransoming individual slaves and also enfranchised many, no general abolition of slavery was possible.

From Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 5, Slice 8 "Chariot" to "Chatelaine" by Various