How to Use hostage in a Sentence

hostage

noun
  • The passengers were taken hostage.
  • The terrorists demanded a plane and a pilot in exchange for the hostages.
  • They were held hostage for several days.
  • The hostage crisis is now entering its second week.
  • That is the fastest way to get hostages out and aid in, and to stop the fighting and loss of life.
    Mallory Moench, TIME, 7 Apr. 2024
  • By then, the broad outlines of a deal to release the hostages were in sight.
    Jonathan Alter, The New Republic, 3 May 2023
  • The 34-year-old man who was held hostage was able to get away and ran.
    Caleb Lunetta, San Diego Union-Tribune, 9 Feb. 2023
  • The hostages had been threatened with a weapon and some were zip-tied.
    Ellie Willard, The Arizona Republic, 27 Mar. 2023
  • And the price to release U.S. hostages will only go up.
    Kirsty Hatcher, Peoplemag, 18 Sep. 2023
  • The team races to help when Eileen is taken hostage in the newsroom.
    Olivia McCormack, Washington Post, 2 Mar. 2023
  • Simmons said the bullet fired at Clark may have struck the hostage.
    Louis Casiano, Fox News, 8 May 2023
  • In the third phase, the sides would exchange the remains of hostages and prisoners.
    Matthew Lee, arkansasonline.com, 8 Feb. 2024
  • And over 40 of them were taken hostage and are still being held.
    Billboard Staff, Billboard, 22 Dec. 2023
  • The nearby Catholic Church opened its doors to the hostages’ families.
    Joe Biden, CNN, 5 Apr. 2023
  • In 1983, dozens of inmates took control of parts of the prison, taking prison staff hostage.
    Drake Bentley, Journal Sentinel, 5 May 2023
  • Some 100 hostages remain, about a third believed to be dead.
    Democrat-Gazette Staff From Wire Reports, arkansasonline.com, 27 Oct. 2024
  • And the court calls for the return and release of the hostages being held by Hamas currently as well.
    Isaac Chotiner, The New Yorker, 27 Jan. 2024
  • The coup leaders are now trying to starve Mr. Bazoum to death while holding him hostage.
    Mamadou Kiari Liman-Tinguiri, WSJ, 13 Aug. 2023
  • Fifty-two Americans were held hostage for more than a year.
    Walter Mears, Fortune, 25 Feb. 2023
  • And not just because more than 100 hostages are still captive.
    Nic Robertson, CNN, 7 Oct. 2024
  • There are still 120 Israeli hostages being held by Hamas in Gaza.
    Michael Dorgan, Fox News, 8 June 2024
  • Militants still hold about 130 hostages, a fourth of them believed to be dead.
    Democrat-Gazette Staff From Wire Reports, arkansasonline.com, 19 Feb. 2024
  • After all, Trump’s opponents are hostage to the shadows on the wall, too.
    Noah Rothman, National Review, 12 June 2023
  • The other people that police say were taken hostage were then rushed out of the room.
    Drake Bentley, Journal Sentinel, 3 Feb. 2023
  • There will be a lot of sound and fury—leaks from Fox, followed by hostage videos from Tucker—in the coming days.
    Alex Shephard, The New Republic, 27 Apr. 2023
  • For so long, shame held me hostage to my own thoughts of unworthiness.
    Lizeth Gutierrez, refinery29.com, 14 Nov. 2022
  • The department did not confirm whether Qualin had been held hostage.
    Camila Bernal, CNN, 9 June 2023
  • Why are the names of the 101 hostages who remain in captivity not on the nightly news in countries around the world?
    TIME, 25 Sep. 2024
  • There are now 100 hostages still being held in Gaza, including them seven Americans.
    Barak Ravid, Axios, 4 Dec. 2024
  • News of Witkoff's efforts on a ceasefire deal comes after Trump demanded earlier this week the release of hostages held by Hamas before he is sworn into office in January.
    Democrat-Gazette Staff From Wire Reports, arkansasonline.com, 6 Dec. 2024

Some of these examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'hostage.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

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