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

“Most artists will never have a platform like this — a captive audience of 125,000, an open sky, no walls.”

From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 10, 2026

Fischbach is hardly a newcomer to the industry – he's built a platform over 14 years and has a captive audience in his legions of fans.

From BBC • Feb. 16, 2026

“If we go for a walk, he’s a captive audience, but it’s been below zero here. So sometimes, I’ll interrupt ‘Jeopardy,’” she said.

From MarketWatch • Feb. 10, 2026

In the hospital newborns are a captive audience, so it’s easier to get them there than waiting for a later visit, which some may miss.

From The Wall Street Journal • Oct. 3, 2025

It’s as easy as taking bets from the numbers, but with a captive audience.

From "X: A Novel" by Ilyasah Shabazz