# hostage

/ˈhɑstɪdʒ/ (US) · /hˈɒstɪdʒ/ (UK)

Source: https://englishreference.com/word/hostage
Updated: 2026-06-20

## Senses

### 1. a person held for demands

noun · CEFR B2

a person who is taken and kept by an enemy or criminal until they get what they want.

For teachers: a person seized or held as security for the fulfilment of a condition or to compel a third party to act in a specific way.

- The bank robbers took three people as hostage during the robbery.
- The kidnappers released the hostage unharmed after their demands for safe passage out of the country were met by the authorities.

### 2. figurative constraint

noun · CEFR C1 · Literary

a person or thing that is controlled or limited by a difficult situation.

For teachers: a person or thing whose freedom of action is severely constrained by a specific risk or set of circumstances.

- The prime minister was a hostage to his own party's extreme views.
- The company became a hostage to its own success, unable to innovate because it feared alienating its existing customer base.

## Examples

- The bank robbers took a hostage during the escape.
- The government refused to negotiate with the group holding the journalist hostage in the desert.
- Diplomatic efforts stalled as both nations accused the other of using civilian detainees as a political hostage to gain leverage in the trade negotiations.

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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.