hostage

noun/ˈhɑstɪdʒ/

Frequency rank: #4,784 of 20,003 in the WORDED list (wordfreq data)

Meaning

A person held prisoner until certain demands are met.

Illustration for the English word “hostage”

Example sentence

The kidnappers held the diplomat as their hostage until all demands were met.

Synonyms & related words

More words in ranks 4,701–4,800