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

At least one of these personalities decides to kidnap three young teenage girls and hold them hostage in an underground facility. —Lydia Price, People.com, 23 Nov. 2024

The Peter Sarsgaard starrer about the 1972 Munich Summer Olympics and the ABC Sports broadcasting team who had to shift from sports reporting to live coverage of the Israeli athletes taken hostage will now hit theaters on December 13 before expanding on Jan 17. —Mia Galuppo, The Hollywood Reporter, 21 Nov. 2024

Members of the Palestinian militant group Black September had taken 11 Israeli athletes hostage, demanding the release of hundreds of prisoners held in their country’s jails. —Josh Rottenberg, Los Angeles Times, 20 Nov. 2024

The advocacy group, which represents hostages and their families has repeatedly criticized Netanyahu and his government over the negotiations to free those taken captive by Hamas during the Oct. 7 terror attacks. —Raf Sanchez, NBC News, 19 Nov. 2024

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