hostage

noun

hos·​tage ˈhä-stij How to pronounce hostage (audio)
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
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
The grandmother who watched me when my parents were held hostage had survived Auschwitz. — Anne Neuberger, The Atlantic, 3 July 2026 The 41-year-old, who is still the best unrestricted free agent on the market, will keep the rest of the league hostage. — Los Angeles Times, 7 July 2026 Travis Scott, who plays the character of the bard in the court of Ithaca as Penelope is held near hostage by suitors, also hit the red carpet. — Nada Aboul Kheir, Deadline, 6 July 2026 Gantz and Eisenkot were the first members of the war cabinet to hold meetings with the families of hostages, who reported feeling that the release of the hostages was the top priority for Gantz and Eisenkot. — Britannica Editors, Encyclopedia Britannica, 7 July 2026 See All Example Sentences for hostage

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

Time Traveler
The first known use of hostage was in the 13th century

Phrases Containing hostage

Browse Nearby Words

hosta
hostage
hostage crisis
See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Hostage.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/hostage. Accessed 9 Jul. 2026.

Copy Citation

Kids Definition

hostage

noun
hos·​tage ˈhäs-tij How to pronounce hostage (audio)
: a person held captive as a pledge that promises will be kept or terms met by another

More from Merriam-Webster on hostage

Nglish: Translation of hostage for Spanish Speakers

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!

More from Merriam-Webster

Word of the Day

Listen to the pronunciation of tacit

See Definitions and Examples »

Popular in Grammar & Usage

See More

Is that lie 'bald-faced' or 'bold-faced'?

'A' or 'an'? What about before 'h'? An Indefinite Article Guide

Why is '-ed' sometimes pronounced at the end of a word?

Commonly Misspelled Words

How to Use Em Dashes (—), En Dashes (–) , and Hyphens (-)
See More

Popular in Wordplay

See More

14 Phobias You Probably Haven't Heard Of

The Longest Long Words List

One-Word Oxymorons: Bittersweet, Spendthrift, and More

Ten Words Ending with a Silent ‘T’

12 Lovely and Unusual Words for the Natural World
See More

Popular

See More

Is that lie 'bald-faced' or 'bold-faced'?

14 Phobias You Probably Haven't Heard Of

The Longest Long Words List
See More

Games & Quizzes

See All
Play Quordle: Guess all four words in a limited number of tries. Each of your guesses must be a real 5-letter word.
Quordle Can you solve 4 words at once?
Play Blossom: Solve today's spelling word game by finding as many words as you can using just 7 letters. Longer words score more points.
Blossom Pick the best words!
Play Missing Letter: a crossword with a twist. Each of the 25 puzzle words start with a different letter of the alphabet. Which letter is missing?
The Missing Letter A daily crossword with a twist
hangman letters and game
Hangman Lightning Round Figure out which word fits in the blanks.
See All