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

Israel’s foreign minister has accused Hamas of trying to use the hostages’ bodies as leverage. —Ibrahim Dahman, CNN Money, 18 Oct. 2025

The identification of Margalit as the 10th deceased Israeli hostage returned from Gaza underscores the ongoing complexities in implementing the ceasefire agreement between Israel and Hamas. —James Bickerton, MSNBC Newsweek, 18 Oct. 2025

Margalit's daughter, Nili Margalit, was also taken hostage but was released during the brief November 2023 ceasefire. —Rachel Wolf , Yonat Friling, FOXNews.com, 18 Oct. 2025

In 2023, another otter, or perhaps the same otter, exhibited similar behavior – holding a surfer's board hostage and damaging water equipment. —Moná Thomas, PEOPLE, 18 Oct. 2025

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