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

"It's worth it for the banks, because they then have a captive audience, who are more likely to take other products from them."

From BBC ● Aug. 16, 2026

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

From The Wall Street Journal ● Mar. 1, 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

As played by Hawke, Hart adores holding court, entertaining his captive audience with witty put-downs and gossipy Broadway anecdotes.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 17, 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

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