hostage

noun

hos·​tage ˈhä-stij 

1

a

: a person held by one party in a conflict as a pledge pending the fulfillment of an agreement

b

: a person taken by force to secure the taker's demands

2

: one that is involuntarily controlled by an outside influence

Examples of hostage in a Sentence

The terrorists demanded a plane and a pilot in exchange for the hostages.

The hostage crisis is now entering its second week.

The passengers were taken hostage.

They were held hostage for several days.

Recent Examples on the Web

Gil also said that opportunities to secure hostage agreements earlier in the war had been lost because of political considerations. — Efrat Lachter, FOXNews.com, 11 Oct. 2026

But after the first ceasefire collapsed in December 2023, the Israeli military launched a major ground offensive in Khan Younis, and the military soon lost track of the hostages. — Jeremy Diamond, CNN Money, 8 Oct. 2026

Apart from Hamas’s release of Israeli hostages, however, most of these commitments have been only partially fulfilled. — Khaled Elgindy, Foreign Affairs, 8 Oct. 2026

Season 2’s trailer shows hitwoman Julie reluctantly teaming up with Edward once again, when his dream honeymoon with Kayla (Shalom Brune-Franklin) is hijacked and his new wife taken hostage. — Jesse Whittock, Deadline, 8 Oct. 2026

Word History

Etymology

Middle English hostage, ostage, borrowed from Anglo-French, "lodging, residence, custody of a person held as security against fulfillment of an agreement, the person so held," from hoste "guest, host" + -age -age — more at host entry 1

Note: The peculiar sense shift apparently arose from the Old French use of hostage in verbal phrases such as prendre en hostage "to take in residence, lodge" in reference to the lodging of a person held as surety; the import of hostage was then transferred to the status of such a person, and finally to the actual person.

First Known Use

13th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1a

Phrases Containing hostage

• a hostage to fortune
• hostage crisis

Kids Definition

hostage

noun

hos·​tage ˈhäs-tij 

: a person held captive as a pledge that promises will be kept or terms met by another