captive audience
noun
: a person or people who are unable to leave a place and are thus forced to listen to what is being said
The passengers on the plane were a captive audience.
Examples of captive audience in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
But the three to four deeply unserious men who appear each season to drone on about crypto, Joe Rogan, and Brazilian jujitsu will get herded away by the captive audience of their dreams and stop wasting a living, breathing woman’s time.
—
Nic Juarez, Vulture, 19 Feb. 2025
With the biggest captive audience of his career -- around 80,000 fans in the Superdome and millions more at home — Lamar's performance will conjure a medley of hits that could span his 15-year discography, and will feature R&B star SZA as a special guest.
—Sidney Madden, NPR, 9 Feb. 2025
Last November, the agency ruled that captive audience meetings, or mandatory employee meetings typically called by employers during union campaigns, are unlawful.
—Annie Palmer, CNBC, 6 Feb. 2025
There’s no captive audience to try to persuade because audiences are no longer captive.
—Kathryn Vanarendonk, Vulture, 6 Feb. 2025
Instead of looking away, the award show chose to use the platform and captive audience for good and a lot of singing and dancing along the way.
—Sandra Gonzalez, CNN, 3 Feb. 2025
This year, as viewers catch the Kansas City Chiefs face off against the Philadelphia Eagles, and see Kendrick Lamar’s halftime performance, brands taking advantage of the huge captive audience are estimated to have paid some hefty prices.
—Bruce Gil, Quartz, 2 Feb. 2025
That captive audience made TikTok an influential player in Hollywood and on Madison Avenue, not to mention in shopping carts as viral products flew off store shelves after trending there.
—Jessica Guynn, USA TODAY, 19 Jan. 2025
In return, banks get a captive audience of consumers who are incentivized to swipe the cards not only for travel but everyday purchases as well.
—Leslie Josephs, CNBC, 5 Dec. 2024
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Nic Juarez, Vulture, 19 Feb. 2025
With the biggest captive audience of his career -- around 80,000 fans in the Superdome and millions more at home — Lamar's performance will conjure a medley of hits that could span his 15-year discography, and will feature R&B star SZA as a special guest.
—Sidney Madden, NPR, 9 Feb. 2025
Last November, the agency ruled that captive audience meetings, or mandatory employee meetings typically called by employers during union campaigns, are unlawful.
—Annie Palmer, CNBC, 6 Feb. 2025
There’s no captive audience to try to persuade because audiences are no longer captive.
—Kathryn Vanarendonk, Vulture, 6 Feb. 2025
Instead of looking away, the award show chose to use the platform and captive audience for good and a lot of singing and dancing along the way.
—Sandra Gonzalez, CNN, 3 Feb. 2025
This year, as viewers catch the Kansas City Chiefs face off against the Philadelphia Eagles, and see Kendrick Lamar’s halftime performance, brands taking advantage of the huge captive audience are estimated to have paid some hefty prices.
—Bruce Gil, Quartz, 2 Feb. 2025
That captive audience made TikTok an influential player in Hollywood and on Madison Avenue, not to mention in shopping carts as viral products flew off store shelves after trending there.
—Jessica Guynn, USA TODAY, 19 Jan. 2025
In return, banks get a captive audience of consumers who are incentivized to swipe the cards not only for travel but everyday purchases as well.
—Leslie Josephs, CNBC, 5 Dec. 2024
Cite this Entry
“Captive audience.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/captive%20audience. Accessed 13 Mar. 2025.
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