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

In contrast to Cricket, who skates along with no end plan, Olympia is a committed careerist, an artist who insists on a captive audience to justify her work.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 8, 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

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