hostagehos‧tage /ˈhɒstɪdʒ $ ˈhɑː-/ ●○○ noun [countable] 
The group are holding two tourists hostage (=keeping them as hostages). a family taken hostage at gunpoint2be (a) hostage to something to be influenced and controlled by something, so that you are not free to do what you want: Our country must not be held hostage to our past.3a hostage to fortune something that you have promised to do that may cause you problems in the future
WORD ORIGINhostage
Origin:
1200-1300 Old French hoste; ➔ HOST1EXAMPLES FROM OTHER DICTIONARIES
- A British journalist was held hostage for over four years.
- An attempt to rescue the American hostages ended in disaster when a helicopter crashed.
- The group has threatened to kill the hostages unless the government frees 15 political prisoners.
- The medical team were captured and taken hostage.
- The terrorists say that they will kill the hostages if we don't agree to their demands.
- For a politician to have a clear objective is to offer hostages to his opponents.
- Later, Cyrus and Poe must stop Johnny from raping a female prison official whom the prisoners have taken hostage.
- The government radio said 32 hostages had been released by 11 a. m., but that could not be confirmed.
- They may then have been required to give hostages as a guarantee of future good behaviour.
- We must exchange hostage for hostage.
- When in residence, their occupants were under surveillance; when absent, they left their families as hostages.
THESAURUS
someone who is kept in a prison as a punishment for a crime, or while they are waiting for their trial: · Prisoners may be locked in their cells for twenty-two hours a day.· a prisoner serving a life sentence for murder
especially written someone who has been found guilty of a crime and sent to a prison. Convict is used especially about someone who is sent to prison for a long time. It is more commonly used in historical descriptions, or in the phrase an escaped convict: · The convicts were sent from England to Australia.· Police were hunting for an escaped convict.· Low-risk convicts help to fight forest fires and clean up public lands.
someone who is kept in a prison or a mental hospital: · Some inmates are allowed to have special privileges.· He was described by a fellow inmate as a quiet man.
especially literary someone who is kept somewhere and not allowed to go free, especially in a war or fighting. Captive is a rather formal word which is used especially in literature: · Their objective was to disarm the enemy and release the captives.· She was held captive (=kept as a prisoner) in the jungle for over three years.
a soldier, member of the navy etc who is caught by the enemy during a war and kept in the enemy’s country: · My grandad was a prisoner of war in Germany.· They agreed to release two Iranian prisoners of war.
someone who is kept somewhere as a prisoner, in order to force people to agree to do something, for example in order to get money or to achieve a political aim: · Diplomats are continuing their efforts to secure the release of the hostages.· The US hostages were held in Tehran for over a year.
someone who is kept in a prison, usually because of their political views and often without a trial: · In some cases, political detainees have been beaten or mistreated.· 23,531 people passed through the camps between 1944 and 1962, including 14,647 political internees.· the detainees at Guantanamo Bay
Longman Language Activatorto keep someone in a place as a prisoner to make someone stay in a place and not let them leave, especially as a prisoner: · You can't keep me here against my will - get out of my way.keep somebody in/at etc something: · The guerrillas were keeping the hostages in a camp somewhere in the jungle.· Prisoners were kept in cells with no beds and no running water.
to keep someone somewhere, especially for a short period of time, before deciding what to do with them: · Police are holding two men for questioning in connection with the robbery.· No one knows where the kidnapped woman is being held.hold somebody in/at etc something: · The prisoners were held at Andersonville until more suitable places were found.
to illegally keep someone in a place where they do not want to be, especially as a way of forcing someone to give you money or do what you want: · Police raided the building where rebels were holding 73 government employees captive.hold sb prisoner/captive/hostage in/at etc something: · Four other US citizens are being held hostage by guerrillas in Colombia.· The woman had been held prisoner in Larkin's basement for 3 months.
informal to put someone in a place, especially a prison, and lock it so that they cannot escape: lock somebody up/away: · Didn't they lock his brother away for murder?lock up/away somebody: · The governor argues that locking up criminals has reduced the crime rate.· Prisoners are locked up in their cells for twenty three hours a day.
to keep someone in a room or small place, so that they cannot go where they want to: confine somebody in something: · The boy had been confined in a dark narrow room from early childhood by his parents.confine somebody to something: · The judge is confining the jury to their hotel until after the verdict.
if the police detain someone who they think has done something illegal, they keep them somewhere, usually in order to ask them questions: · Three men from the ship have been detained for questioning by the Harbour Authorities.· The police are now allowed to detain terrorist suspects for as long as a week.
if the police hold or keep someone in custody they keep them in prison until it is time for them to be judged in a court: · McCullough will be kept in custody until her trial on May 3rd.hold/keep somebody in police custody (=in a police station): · A man has been arrested in connection with the murder and is being held in police custody.
someone who is forced to stay in a place someone who is kept in a place, especially a prison, as punishment for a crime: · The state now has 152,000 prisoners in 32 prisons.prisoner of war (=someone who is kept prisoner by the enemy during a war): · Her father spent three years as a prisoner of war in Korea.political prisoner (=someone who is in prison because of their political beliefs): · There have been reports of the systematic torture of political prisoners.take somebody prisoner (=make someone your prisoner): · All the soldiers were either killed or taken prisoner.
someone who is kept in a place illegally: · All the captives were kept in a darkened room with their hands tied.· The rebels promise to release their captives unharmed if their demands are met.take somebody captive (=make someone your captive): · Armed gunmen broke into the church and took the priest captive.
someone who is illegally kept in a place by someone who threatens to harm or kill them as a way of making someone else pay money or do what they want: · The group has threatened to kill the hostages unless the government frees 15 political prisoners.· An attempt to rescue the American hostages ended in disaster.take somebody hostage (=make someone your hostage): · The medical team were captured and taken hostage.
someone who is kept in a place when they do not want to be there · My parents were very strict. Sometimes I felt like a prisoner in my own home.· It's a science fiction story about people being taken to another planet as prisoners.hold/keep somebody prisoner · Mann was held prisoner in the back of the Chevrolet and told she was going to be killed.
a soldier etc who is caught by the enemy during a war and kept as a prisoner: · There were general codes covering such matters as the treatment of prisoners of war.· a POW camp
someone who is kept in a place illegally, especially in a war - used especially in literature: · All the captives were kept in a darkened room with their hands tied.· The rebels promised to release their captives unharmed if the government did as they said.
someone who is kept as a prisoner by an enemy country or organization, and is threatened with death or injury if that person's government or organization does not do what the enemy wants: · The terrorists say that they will kill the hostages if we don't agree to their demands.· An attempt to rescue the American hostages ended in disaster when a helicopter crashed.take somebody hostage (=make someone your hostage): · The medical team were captured and taken hostage.hold somebody hostage (=keep someone in a place as your hostage): · A British journalist was held hostage for over four years.
someone who is being kept in a place by the police while they are waiting to go to court, or so that the police can ask them questions about something illegal they may have done: · The government has ordered the trial of all detainees within six months.· According to a recent report, many detainees claim that police have mistreated them.
to force someone to stay in a place as a prisoner to force someone to stay in a place, as if they were a prisoner: · West had abducted the young girl and kept her in his basement for 10 days.keep somebody prisoner: · Police think that the woman may have been kept prisoner for the twenty four hours before she was murdered.
if an enemy or group of criminals takes someone hostage , they keep that person as a prisoner, and threaten to kill or injure them unless they get what they want: · The government is concerned that British troops might be taken hostage by guerrillas.· A band of human rights activists stormed the embassy and took several people hostage.
to keep someone in a place and not allow them to leave - used especially in news reports: · Police are holding two men in connection with the robbery.hold somebody prisoner/hostage/captive: · Several tourists were being held captive by rebels in Kashmir.· Militant prisoners held 24 guards hostage on Friday, as jail unrest spread throughout the country.
to make someone stay in a very small place, with the result that their freedom or movements are restricted: confine somebody to something: · The judge has confined the jury to their hotel until after the verdict.· All the illegal immigrants were confined to a small island in the harbour.be confined in: · Brett was eventually confined in a psychiatric hospital, where he committed suicide.
informal to put or keep someone in a place so that they are no longer free: shut somebody up: · According to the legend, Acrisius built an underground house for his daughter. Here he shut her up and guarded her.· The lawyer claimed that his client had been shut up in a prison cell for hours, when there was no legal reason to keep him.
to take someone away using force if soldiers, the police etc take someone away , they force that person to go with them: take somebody away: · The soldiers took my son away and I never saw him again.· Luis told me how he'd been picked up by military police in the middle of the night, and taken away for questioning.take away somebody: · At that time police would often take away suspected revolutionaries and throw them in jail with a trial.
to take someone away by force, especially a child or young person, often in order to kill them or sexually attack them - used especially in news reports: · The two high school girls were abducted at gunpoint on Tuesday.· Kurdish separatists have abducted a Japanese tourist and are demanding money for his safe return.abduct somebody from something: · Several young women had been abducted from their villages and forced to work as prostitutes.
to take someone away by force and keep them as your prisoner, in order to make their family or their government give you money or other things you want: · Terrorists have kidnapped a French officer and are demanding $400,000 from the French government.· He was kidnapped by vigilantes in El Centro, beaten and robbed, and then set on fire.
to take someone and keep them as a prisoner, especially for political reasons, and threaten to kill them if their government does not do what you demand: · On January 6, six Italian nuns were taken hostage.· Guerrilla fighters seized the hospital yesterday, taking patients and staff hostage, although several dozen were later released.
COLLOCATIONS FROM THE ENTRY The group are holding two tourists hostage (=keeping them as hostages). a family taken hostage at gunpoint Our country must not be held hostage to our past.COLLOCATIONS FROM OTHER ENTRIES A senior army officer was held hostage for four months.COLLOCATIONS FROM THE CORPUSADJECTIVE
The group are holding two tourists hostage (=keeping them as hostages). a family taken hostage at gunpoint Our country must not be held hostage to our past. A senior army officer was held hostage for four months.· Where was the intuitive faith of the wives and lovers of those other hostages in Beirut?· So it was with the other hostages.· As you all know, he is now free and we hope the other hostages will soon be free too.
· It was simply guesswork that it was in that place that some of the Western hostages were kept.
NOUN· Rafsanjani's desire to act on the hostage crisis was tied to domestic concerns.· Together, Minnig and Cipriani carry the hopes for a peaceful resolution of the hostage crisis here.· President Bush is being widely praised for his deft handling of the hostage crisis.· The long-term impact of the crisis will likely be determined by the outcome of the hostage crisis.· An impasse in the hostage crisis had been reached, to continue through the summer of 1980.
· After hostage negotiators heard the gunshot over the phone, police waited about a half hour before entering the home.
· All hostage situations are dangerous and potentially life-threatening.
VERB· They freed their hostages, including the ambassador, and left the embassy peacefully on Oct. 7.· A deal to free the hostages fell through, apparently because their release would have left the rebels without bargaining power.
· Gen. Oscar Florendo, who was being held hostage by the rebels.· Putin is being held hostage by his generals.· Yet, the Republican Party is being held hostage by the religious zealots.· She was out, so he held three women staff hostage until he allowed two policemen to take their place.· But Havel also has preached that the country must not be held hostage to its past.· He then called 911 to tell police he was holding the hostages.· We are all held hostage to each other in this nation.
· Mr Speight has allegedly threatened to kill the hostages if an armed rescue mission is mounted.· Fierce fighting continued amid rebel threats to kill hostages.· No one has thought through what happens when a group of private contractors are killed or taken hostage.
· The gunmen released most hostages and headed for Chechnya with the rest after receiving a promise of safe passage.· Smith released the hostages, but remained in the house.· On 26 July 1986 Father Lawrence Jenco was released after being held hostage for 18 months.· Newly released hostage Frank Reed declares from his hospital balcony that he is looking forward to a three-pound Maine lobster.· As a precaution they recently released 40 of their hostages, in case they were carrying the disease.
· In the opinion of most, however customer service and quality remained hostage to the lack of cooperation from the functional heads.
· But increasingly Waite had become involved in his attempts to rescue hostages held in the Middle East.· Carter also gave a go-ahead for a military attempt to rescue the hostages.· President Carter displayed considerable restraint in the crisis until an attempt was made in April 1980 to rescue the hostages by force.· Carter ordered the Pentagon to prepare a contingency plan for military action to rescue the hostages.
· After Aegidius's death, Odovacer took hostages from Angers.· The suspect, Myron Bowers, 36, was captured with the help of a man he briefly took hostage.· The heavily armed gunmen initially took 24 hostages, but later released 14.· No one has thought through what happens when a group of private contractors are killed or taken hostage.· Mrs Rees's daughter Leanne was taken hostage in the house.· Later, Cyrus and Poe must stop Johnny from raping a female prison official whom the prisoners have taken hostage.· The seige ended peacefully and Yacoub was later charged with taking hostages and with illegal possession of a firearm.· One unconfirmed report said Hamilton had intended to take the children hostage but that his plan went awry.
PHRASES FROM THE ENTRY
1someone who is kept as a prisoner by an enemy so that the other side will do what the enemy demands: - But this development of local state institutions can be a hostage to fortune.
- Making objectives explicit is a hostage to fortune and the failure to do so may reflect a shrewd awareness. 2.
- Now, more than ever, the president will be a hostage to his own ethnic minority, the Zaghawa.
- You were hostage to your producers.
- But this development of local state institutions can be a hostage to fortune.
- Making objectives explicit is a hostage to fortune and the failure to do so may reflect a shrewd awareness. 2.
- Senior Tories who dismissed the tax guarantee as a hostage to fortune will feel vindicated by Mr Hague's backdown.
The group are holding two tourists hostage (=keeping them as hostages). a family taken hostage at gunpoint2be (a) hostage to something to be influenced and controlled by something, so that you are not free to do what you want: Our country must not be held hostage to our past.3a hostage to fortune something that you have promised to do that may cause you problems in the future