kidnap
Americanverb (used with object)
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kidnaps,
present (3rd person singular)
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kidnapped,
past participle, past
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kidnaped,
past participle, past
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kidnapping,
present participle
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kidnaping
present participle
verb
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
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kidnapeenoun
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kidnapernoun
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kidnappeenoun
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kidnappernoun
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kidnappingnoun
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unkidnapedadjective
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unkidnappedadjective
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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kidnapsimple
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kidnapssimple
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have kidnapedperfect
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have kidnappedperfect
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has kidnapedperfect
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has kidnappedperfect
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am kidnapingprogressive
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am kidnappingprogressive
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are kidnapingprogressive
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are kidnappingprogressive
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is kidnapingprogressive
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is kidnappingprogressive
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have been kidnapingperfect progressive
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have been kidnappingperfect progressive
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has been kidnapingperfect progressive
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has been kidnappingperfect progressive
Past
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kidnapedsimple
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kidnappedsimple
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had kidnapedperfect
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had kidnappedperfect
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was kidnapingprogressive
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was kidnappingprogressive
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were kidnapingprogressive
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were kidnappingprogressive
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had been kidnapingperfect progressive
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had been kidnappingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of kidnap
Explanation
To kidnap is to steal a person, or to hold someone as a prisoner until a ransom is paid. The original meaning of kidnap, dating from the late seventeenth century, was "steal children to provide servants to the American colonies," from kid, "child," and nap, "snatch away." After the particularly notorious Lindberg baby kidnapping in 1932, the U.S. Congress passed a law allowing the FBI to investigate all kidnappings. Today the word kidnap includes all abductions, of both children and adults.
Vocabulary lists containing kidnap
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This Week in Words: Current Events Vocab for September 21–September 27, 2024
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
Wrote another, of the scammers: They “basically psychologically kidnap you.”
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 9, 2026
"I thought they were going to kidnap us. I ran to a taco stand to take cover with the people there," Medina told AFP.
From Barron's ● Feb. 22, 2026
At the same time, bald eagles were rumored to sometimes kidnap human babies and fly away with them in their talons.
From Slate ● Feb. 21, 2026
It is not clear when Emily's attempted kidnap was first linked to Victoria's case.
From BBC ● Feb. 6, 2026
“Panic rooms are what rich people have in their houses, where they can go and be safe and lock themselves in if someone breaks in. Or if someone is trying to kidnap them.”
From "The Strangers" by Margaret Peterson Haddix
When a Frenchman kidnaps a woman from the rival town, his mother and her fellow villagers react with outrage and indignation, less at the abduction itself than at his apparent interest in a German woman.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jan. 14, 2026
The Ramayana depicts the victory of Hindu god Ram over the demon king Ravana after the latter kidnaps his wife, Sita.
From BBC ● Jun. 19, 2023
“This case shows that the Justice Department will be relentless in our efforts to track down anyone who kidnaps a U.S. citizen abroad,” Attorney General Merrick B. Garland said in a statement.
From New York Times ● May 10, 2022
“This case shows that the Justice Department will be relentless in our efforts to track down anyone who kidnaps a U.S. citizen abroad,” Attorney General Merrick Garland said in a statement.
From Seattle Times ● May 10, 2022
Sarah and Jack and the clover elves are just about to celebrate their victory over the troll army when an ogre kidnaps Jack and sweeps him off to the hobgoblin king’s castle.
From "How to Disappear Completely" by Ali Standish
The Yavapai County Sheriff's Office identified the remains as that of Sharon Lee Gallegos, who was reported kidnaped on July 21, 1960, thanks to advanced DNA technology.
From Fox News ● Mar. 16, 2022
The multi-state search for her and the five-year search for who reportedly kidnaped her diverted resources from other cases, Shasta County Sheriff Michael Johnson said.
From Fox News ● Mar. 8, 2022
The deals apparently did secure the release of three Americans -- though four more were subsequently kidnaped -- just as French contacts with Iran appeared to win freedom for five Frenchmen last year.
From Time Magazine Archive
In Beirut, meanwhile, West German Businessman Rudolf Cordes, kidnaped 20 months ago as a direct result of Hammadi's capture, was suddenly released.
From Time Magazine Archive
An English gentleman, sir, kidnaped by the Spaniards and carried to Mexico, where I have undergone torments at the hands of the Inquisitors.
From In the Days of Drake by J. S. (Joseph Smith) Fletcher
Investigators spent precious hours deciding whether Nancy was kidnapped or lost.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 2, 2026
Farmer Yahuza Isa, who was kidnapped in Zamfara state, expressed the frustration shared by many victims.
From BBC ● Jul. 27, 2026
This time around, Enola’s impending wedding is interrupted when she learns Sherlock’s been kidnapped and needs rescuing.
From MarketWatch ● Jun. 30, 2026
The most common backstory is that Adora was kidnapped by Hordak as an infant and raised on the planet Etheria as a member of his Evil Horde.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 5, 2026
“My grandmother was kidnapped from my...my castle. I was taken too, but I escaped, and here we are. She told me to go to the Black Forest to find help, so that’s where we’re going.”
From "Half Upon a Time" by James Riley
Pankey’s attorney, Anthony Viorst, countered that prosecutors’ circumstantial evidence, Pankey’s overbearing personality and his obsession with “true crime” mysteries is not enough to convict him of kidnaping and murder.
From Seattle Times ● Oct. 13, 2021
The Foleys also said some responsibility lies with American members of the media who failed to continue reporting on Foley's kidnaping, letting it fall out of the news cycle.
From US News ● Feb. 26, 2015
While reports of Waite's kidnaping remained unconfirmed, they steadily grew more alarming.
From Time Magazine Archive
But the joy of the long- awaited homecoming was muted by signs that a total recovery from the kidnaping incident will be a difficult process for the Duartes and the country.
From Time Magazine Archive
He had never been quite sure about Major de Coverley, either, who, when he was not away renting apartments or kidnaping foreign laborers, had nothing more pressing to do than pitch horseshoes.
From "Catch-22" by Joseph Heller
Within days of Rideout's kidnapping, the US warned its citizens against travelling to Niger due to an "increased risk of terrorism, crime and civil unrest".
From BBC ● Aug. 14, 2026
Unlike Simpson’s case, which ended in acquittals, the kidnapping attracted a new generation of amateur sleuths, livestreaming hours of content, conjecture and rumor each day to hundreds of thousands of online followers.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 2, 2026
They also brought to light a broader conspiracy, starting with the twist that this wasn’t Chris’ first kidnapping.
From Salon ● Aug. 1, 2026
US television star journalist Savannah Guthrie made an emotional appeal Saturday for anyone with information about her mother's disappearance to come forward, saying "we are begging for help" six months after the kidnapping took place.
From Barron's ● Aug. 1, 2026
Washington ordered Major “Light Horse Harry” Lee to take charge of what today would be called a special operation: the kidnapping of Benedict Arnold.
From "George Washington, Spymaster" by Thomas B. Allen
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.
