captive audience

Idioms  

1. Listeners or onlookers who have no choice but to attend. For example, It's a required course and, knowing he has a captive audience, the professor rambles on endlessly. This expression, first recorded in 1902, uses captive in the sense of “unable to escape.”

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Example Sentences

See Examples For:

captive audience

Perhaps the only thing that can be said with certainty about Kevin Warsh’s press conference following his first meeting as Federal Reserve chair this week is that he will have a captive audience.

From MarketWatch ● Jun. 14, 2026

It wasn’t long before Hill realized she had a captive audience.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Mar. 1, 2026

Mr Coatsworth said these shops "benefit from a captive audience allowing the company to generate strong margins".

From BBC ● Aug. 21, 2025

Whereas the Whitney we have a captive audience since more of our customers are coming and going from the museum.

From Salon ● Dec. 4, 2024

Though she has acquired a taste for classical music over the years—“it’s like learning to appreciate a stinky cheese”—she’s been a not-always-delighted captive audience for many of my marathon rehearsals.

From "If I Stay" by Gayle Forman