hostage
Americannoun
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a person given or held as security for the fulfillment of certain conditions or terms, promises, etc., by another.
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Archaic. a security or pledge.
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Obsolete. the condition of a hostage.
verb (used with object)
noun
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a person given to or held by a person, organization, etc, as a security or pledge or for ransom, release, exchange for prisoners, etc
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the state of being held as a hostage
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any security or pledge
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to place oneself in a position in which misfortune may strike through the loss of what one values most
Other Word Forms
- hostageship noun
Etymology
Origin of hostage
1225–75; Middle English < Old French hostage ( h- by association with ( h ) oste host 2 ), ostage ≪ Vulgar Latin *obsidāticum state of being a hostage < Latin obsid- (stem of obses ) hostage (equivalent to ob- ob- + sid- sit 1 ) + -āticum -age
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
From hostages to nuclear weapons and proxy wars, Iran has vexed American presidents for some 75 years, compelling some of Washington’s riskiest international campaigns.
“In truth, this is guilt by blood, this is hostage taking, this is transnational repression,” Ms. Kwok wrote on social media Thursday.
Is that right, or could that prove a hostage to fortune?
From BBC
I admire his sense of commitment, but he should not be held hostage by his success.
From MarketWatch
No one should be held hostage to other people’s decisions or half-truths.
From MarketWatch
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
