captor

noun

cap·​tor ˈkap-tər 

-ˌtȯr

: one that has captured a person or thing

Examples of captor in a Sentence

The men fought their captors and escaped.

Recent Examples on the Web

Conlon wrote a book about another 1983 kidnapping, this one human, a supermarket executive rescued in the woods here after 23 days in IRA captivity and Conlon says Shergar's captors would have found a soft landing in Leitrim. — Jon Wertheim, CBS News, 20 Sep. 2026

The captor/captive dynamic is a good one and it’s given ample screen time. — Daniel Fienberg, HollywoodReporter, 19 Sep. 2026

Cora, the granddaughter of a woman kidnapped from West Africa and sold into slavery, flees her captor’s plantation, plunging her into the book’s alternate steampunk reality where she is pursued by the merciless slave catcher Ridgeway. — David Faris, TheWeek, 16 Sep. 2026

The kitten appears to be squirming in his alleged captor’s arms in surveillance footage of the incident, which Innab reviewed after Jabal’s disappearance. — Rachel Raposas, PEOPLE, 16 Sep. 2026

Word History

Etymology

Late Latin, from Latin capere

First Known Use

circa 1688, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for captor

• apter
• chapter
• raptor
• adapter
• adaptor
• subchapter

Kids Definition

captor

noun

cap·​tor ˈkap-tər 

-ˌtȯ(ə)r

: one that has captured a person or thing