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

After learning that Millard Hall was on vacation, Kiritsis took the executive’s son Richard Hall hostage. — Frannie Comstock, Encyclopedia Britannica, 8 Sep. 2026

Tubi Inside Man (2006) Spike Lee’s labyrinthine thriller stars Denzel Washington as a hostage negotiator and Clive Owen as a bank robber holding customers hostage in a tony Manhattan branch. — Declan Gallagher, Entertainment Weekly, 3 Sep. 2026

In December 2023, Eisenkot’s youngest son, Gal, a reservist in an elite military unit, was killed in an operation to locate the bodies of Israeli hostages in the northern Gaza Strip. — Amos Harel, Foreign Affairs, 2 Sep. 2026

Upcoming, he’ll be seen starring opposite Taylor Kitsch in the hostage thriller Eleven Days from Peter Landesman. — Matt Grobar, Deadline, 31 Aug. 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