kidnapped also kidnaped
ˈkid-ˌnapt 
; kidnapping also kidnaping
; kidnapping also kidnaping
: to seize and detain or carry away by unlawful force or fraud and often with a demand for ransom
kidnapper
noun
or less commonly kidnaper
Examples of kidnap in a Sentence
the child of the wealthy industrialist was kidnapped and held for ransom
Recent Examples on the Web
The charges stem from her role in aiding childhood friend Daniel Callihan, who confessed to murdering 35-year-old Callie Brunett in Louisiana on the night of June 11, 2024 and then kidnapping her two daughters, who were four and six at the time.
—
Chris Spargo, PEOPLE, 25 Nov. 2025
Many of the hundreds of children kidnapped from a Catholic school in Nigeria were as young as 5 years old, according to a nun who also described how 50 of the students escaped over the weekend.
—Stephen Sorace, FOXNews.com, 25 Nov. 2025
Two dozen schoolgirls who were kidnapped from a boarding school in Nigeria’s northwestern Kebbi state last week have been freed, according to officials, as the country grapples with a wave of mass abductions in recent days.
—Hira Humayun, CNN Money, 25 Nov. 2025
On November 22, Russia’s National Guard said an organized crime group in Moscow had been arrested, accused of kidnapping war veterans and extorting money from them and their families.
—Brendan Cole, MSNBC Newsweek, 25 Nov. 2025
See All Example Sentences for kidnap
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Chris Spargo, PEOPLE, 25 Nov. 2025
Many of the hundreds of children kidnapped from a Catholic school in Nigeria were as young as 5 years old, according to a nun who also described how 50 of the students escaped over the weekend.
—Stephen Sorace, FOXNews.com, 25 Nov. 2025
Two dozen schoolgirls who were kidnapped from a boarding school in Nigeria’s northwestern Kebbi state last week have been freed, according to officials, as the country grapples with a wave of mass abductions in recent days.
—Hira Humayun, CNN Money, 25 Nov. 2025
On November 22, Russia’s National Guard said an organized crime group in Moscow had been arrested, accused of kidnapping war veterans and extorting money from them and their families.
—Brendan Cole, MSNBC Newsweek, 25 Nov. 2025
See All Example Sentences for kidnap
Cite this Entry
“Kidnap.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/kidnap. Accessed 27 Nov. 2025.
Copy CitationKids Definition
Legal Definition
Etymology
probably back-formation from kidnapper, from kid child + obsolete napper thief
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