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

The messages Feldstein is accused of sending to the media allegedly pertained to Qatar’s role in negotiating the return of Israeli hostages, among other things, Israel HaYom reported. —Rachel Wolf, FOXNews.com, 1 Apr. 2025

After a new Hamas hostage video was released on Saturday, another statement was shared on behalf of Iair Horn, who was freed last month amid the ceasefire and continues to campaign for the release his brother, Eitan, still in Gaza. —Ron Estes, MSNBC Newsweek, 31 Mar. 2025

More: Hamas says Trump's threats encourage Netanyahu to evade Gaza ceasefire deal Hamas, which still holds 59 of the 250 or so hostages Israel says the group seized in its October 7, 2023 attack, accused Israel of jeopardising efforts by mediators to negotiate a permanent deal to end the fighting. —Reuters, USA Today, 27 Mar. 2025

Israel has demanded that Hamas release several hostages before commencing talks on ending the war, negotiations that were supposed to have begun in early February. —Wafaa Shurafa and Sam Mednick, Los Angeles Times, 1 Apr. 2025

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