the redemption of a prisoner or kidnapped person, of captured goods, etc., for a price.
the sum or price paid or demanded.
a means of deliverance or rescue from punishment for sin, especially the payment of a redemptive fine.
to redeem from captivity, bondage, detention, etc., by paying a demanded price.
to release or restore on receipt of a ransom.
to deliver or redeem from punishment for sin.
the release of captured prisoners, property, etc, on payment of a stipulated price
the price demanded or stipulated for such a release
rescue or redemption of any kind
to keep (prisoners, property, etc) in confinement until payment for their release is made or received
to attempt to force (a person or persons) to comply with one's demands
a very large amount of money or valuables
to pay a stipulated price and so obtain the release of (prisoners, property, etc)
to set free (prisoners, property, etc) upon receiving the payment demanded
to redeem; rescue
Christ ransomed men from sin
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.
See redeem.
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
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.
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Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
"But then I actually read the ransom note and saw it was Canvas that had been hacked."
From BBC • May 12, 2026
The British Library, where I wrote several books, declined to pay such a ransom in 2023; its systems still have not completely recovered, but basic library operations continue.
From The Wall Street Journal • May 6, 2026
The officials, along with local intermediaries who speak to the group, say its funding has been bolstered by fresh cash injections from the sale of intercepted fuel and by a recent ransom payment.
From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 30, 2026
It can't hold the world to ransom, as it were.
From BBC • Apr. 28, 2026
And so, on the night he set out to ransom me, he remained at the wheel of an enormous, gas-guzzling Cadillac.
From "Middlesex: A Novel" by Jeffrey Eugenides
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.
