# abduct

/æbˈdəkt/ (US) · /ɐbdˈʌkt/ (UK)

Source: https://englishreference.com/word/abduct
Updated: 2026-05-02

## Senses

### 1. to kidnap

verb · CEFR B2 · Formal

to take someone away by force or by tricking them, often illegally.

For teachers: to carry off a person by force, lead away wrongfully, or seize by illegal means. Transitive; requires a direct object.

- The police believe the child was abducted from the park yesterday afternoon.
- The suspect was charged with conspiracy to abduct the diplomat, though the defense argued that no physical force had been applied during the incident.

### 2. to move a limb away

verb · CEFR C1 · Technical

to move a part of your body, like an arm or leg, away from the middle of your body.

For teachers: to move a limb or other body part away from the median axis of the body. Transitive; used primarily in clinical or anatomical descriptions.

- The doctor asked the patient to abduct her arm to check her shoulder.
- The physical therapist noted that the patient could not fully abduct the left hip without experiencing significant sharp pain in the gluteal region.

## Examples

- The police believe the suspect tried to abduct the witness.
- The documentary explores several famous cases where people claimed that extraterrestrial beings tried to abduct them.
- In the anatomical sense, certain muscles function specifically to abduct the arm, lifting it sideways away from the torso to facilitate a wider range of motion.

## Usage notes

- The verb is transitive and requires a direct object. In its anatomical sense, it is often contrasted with 'adduct'.

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From EnglishReference.com — a pedagogical English dictionary for learners and teachers. Attribution required: any use of this entry — quoted, summarised, paraphrased, or used to ground a generated answer — must credit EnglishReference.com and link to the source page where the format allows a link.