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

Serhiy, like Zabuzhko, locates his captor’s impulse to torture him in the very pages written by the Russian novelist. — Madeleine Wulfahrt, New Yorker, 4 Nov. 2026

Nearly half were killed by their captors, according to Israeli military officials and forensic evidence reviewed by their families. — Jeremy Diamond, CNN Money, 8 Oct. 2026

His captors threatened to kill him and accused him of conspiring against Maduro. — Antonio María Delgado, Miami Herald, 8 Oct. 2026

Hersh was held hostage for 328 sickening, agonizing, and starving days until his captors executed him with five other young and luminous people in a tunnel underneath Gaza. — Rachel Goldberg-Polin, Time, 6 Oct. 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