Definitions for hostage
ˈhɒs tɪdʒhostage

Princeton's WordNetRate this definition:1.0 / 1 vote

1. hostage, suretynoun

   a prisoner who is held by one party to insure that another party will meet specified terms

WiktionaryRate this definition:1.0 / 1 vote

1. hostagenoun

   A person given as a pledge or security for the performance of the conditions of a treaty or stipulations of any kind, on the performance of which the person is to be released.

2. Etymology: From hostage (French: otage, from hoste or obsidanus.)

Samuel Johnson's DictionaryRate this definition:0.0 / 0 votes

1. Hostagenoun

   One given in pledge for security of performance of conditions.

   Etymology: ostage, French.

   Your hostages I have, so have you mine;
   And we shall talk before we fight. William Shakespeare, Ant. and Cleopat.

   Do this message honourably;
   And if he stand on hostage for his safety,
   Bid him demand what pledge will please him best. William Shakespeare.

   He that hath wife and children, hath given hostages to fortune; for they are impediments to great enterprises, either of virtue or mischief. Francis Bacon, Essay 8.

   They who marry give hostages to the publick, that they will not attempt the ruin or disturb the peace of it. Francis Atterbury.

   The Romans having seized a great number of hostages, acquainted them with their resolution. John Arbuthnot, on Coins.

WikipediaRate this definition:0.0 / 0 votes

1. Hostage

   A hostage is a person seized by an abductor in order to compel another party, one which places a high value on the liberty, well-being and safety of the person seized—such as a relative, employer, law enforcement, or government—to act, or refrain from acting, in a certain way, often under threat of serious physical harm or death to the hostage(s) after expiration of an ultimatum. The Encyclopædia Britannica Eleventh Edition defines a hostage as "a person who is handed over by one of two belligerent parties to the other or seized as security for the carrying out of an agreement, or as a preventive measure against certain acts of war."A party who seizes one or more hostages is known as a hostage-taker; if the hostages are present voluntarily, then the receiver is known as a host. In civil society, along with kidnapping for ransom and human trafficking (often willing to ransom its captives when lucrative or to trade on influence), hostage taking is a criminal activity. In the military context, hostages are distinct from prisoners of war—despite prisoners being used as collateral in prisoner exchange—and hostage taking is regarded as a war crime. On occasion, hostage taking is an impulsive act of desperation, as when a criminal act goes awry, the criminal has lethal force available, and a bystander becomes hasty collateral, despite the prospects for evading justice remaining poor, now soon surrounded by lethal force with intent as well as criminal prosecution for a serious additional crime, should the hostage taker survive the escalated stand-off (not always the intent; see suicide by cop). These confrontations are extremely dramatic, and are prominent in the public eye, despite being rather uncommon. Hostage taking is sometimes the only way to enact a plan, hence tactical, such as certain forms of prison escape, especially as treated in film. At the other extreme, it can be an entirely calculated business venture by what amounts to organized crime. Before venturing into regimes known for lax rule of law, it is commonplace for affluent travellers and business persons to obtain kidnap and ransom insurance, though this will be less effective if the kidnapper's game plan transmutes into political extortion. Parental child abduction is not generally considered hostage taking because there is usually no threat of harm to the child and no ultimatum concerning the return of the child (though there are cases where the leverage obtained within the failed parental relationship is more desired than the child), but otherwise hostage taking and kidnapping are prone to blend together. When the goal is strictly financial, the primary lens is one of extortion, even in the face of a severe threat to the safety of the captive person if the financial negotiation fails; conversely, when the goal is political or geopolitical, the primary lens is terrorism.

ChatGPTRate this definition:0.0 / 0 votes

1. hostage

   A hostage is a person who has been captured and detained by an individual or group, often for use as leverage in negotiations, or to demand ransom or force compliance with specific demands. The detained person's freedom, and possibly their life, is put at stake, creating pressure on others to fulfill the captor’s demands.

Webster DictionaryRate this definition:5.0 / 2 votes

1. Hostagenoun

   a person given as a pledge or security for the performance of the conditions of a treaty or stipulations of any kind, on the performance of which the person is to be released

2. Etymology: [OE. hostage, OF. hostage, ostage, F. tage, LL. hostaticus, ostaticum, for hospitaticum, fr. L. hospes guest, host. The first meaning is, the state of a guest, hospitality; hence, the state of a hostage (treated as a guest); and both these meanings occur in Old French. See Host a landlord.]

WikidataRate this definition:5.0 / 1 vote

1. Hostage

   A hostage is a person or entity which is held by one of two belligerent parties to the other or seized as security for the carrying out of an agreement, or as a preventive measure against certain acts of war. However, in contemporary usage, it means someone who is seized by a criminal abductor in order to compel another party such as a relative, employer, law enforcement, or government to act, or refrain from acting, in a particular way, often under threat of serious physical harm to the hostage after expiration of an ultimatum. A person who seizes one or more hostages is known as a hostage-taker; if the hostages are present voluntarily, then the receiver is known as a host.

Chambers 20th Century DictionaryRate this definition:0.0 / 0 votes

1. Hostage

   hos′tāj, n. one remaining with the enemy as a pledge for the fulfilment of the conditions of a treaty.—Hostages to fortune, a man's wife, children, &c. [O. Fr. hostage (Fr. ôtage)—Low L. obsidaticus—L. obses, obsidis, a hostage.]

Dictionary of Military and Associated TermsRate this definition:0.0 / 0 votes

1. hostage

   A person held as a pledge that certain terms or agreements will be kept. (The taking of hostages is forbidden under the Geneva Conventions, 1949.)

Dictionary of Nautical TermsRate this definition:0.0 / 0 votes

1. hostage

   A person given up to an enemy as a pledge or security for the performance of the articles of a treaty.

Suggested ResourcesRate this definition:0.0 / 0 votes

1. hostage

   Song lyrics by hostage -- Explore a large variety of song lyrics performed by hostage on the Lyrics.com website.

Matched Categories

1. • Prisoner

British National Corpus

1. Nouns Frequency

   Rank popularity for the word 'hostage' in Nouns Frequency: #2812

Usage in printed sourcesFrom: 

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Anagrams for hostage »

1. he-goats

2. she-goat

How to pronounce hostage?

1. Alex

   US English

   David

   US English

   Mark

   US English

   Daniel

   British

   Libby

   British

   Mia

   British

   Karen

   Australian

   Hayley

   Australian

   Natasha

   Australian

   Veena

   Indian

   Priya

   Indian

   Neerja

   Indian

   Zira

   US English

   Oliver

   British

   Wendy

   British

   Fred

   US English

   Tessa

   South African

How to say hostage in sign language?

Numerology

1. Chaldean Numerology

   The numerical value of hostage in Chaldean Numerology is: 1

2. Pythagorean Numerology

   The numerical value of hostage in Pythagorean Numerology is: 3

Examples of hostage in a Sentence

1. Chuck Schumer:

   I t would be just the height of responsibility for Republicans to play games to take the debt limit hostage, that would be playing with the full faith and credit of the United States. It would be a horrible act, a despicable act, really.

2. Jen Psaki:

   He wanted to have a discussion with a former colleague ... about foreign and policy implications of the release of the report, ongoing efforts -- everything from our ongoing efforts related to ISIL, the safety of Americans being held hostage around the world, he was simply raising the fact that these are issues that are ongoing right now, and certainly, he wanted to have a discussion and make sure that they were factored into the timing.

3. Hassan Latheef:

   The government reneged on the agreed deal at the last minute, demanding a close family member of Nasheed remain in Male, effectively as a hostage, until he returns from the UK, if Nasheed does anything that breach the terms of the government, the family member could then be criminally prosecuted. This kind of blackmail is illegal, unheard of in international affairs, and totally outrageous.

4. Brenda Reddick:

   So once we actually got him with hostage negotiation, [and] we had the communication going, he calmed down, he was able to relay whatever information that we had to the brother, and everyone was able to have a safe, successful apprehension.

5. Andrés Manuel López Obrador:

   I'm aware that there are political groups in the US that are committed to confrontation, that would like to hold the people of Latin America and the Caribbean hostage, as is the case of the blockade against Cuba, which is highly promoted by Cuban politicians who have a lot of influence in the President Andrés Manuel López Obrador, but I consider the blockade inappropriate, and inhumane(...) an entire people can not suffer for the interest of a group, so the President Andrés Manuel López Obrador government must decide on this because it is a matter of human rights, which has to do with sovereignty.

Popularity rank by frequency of use

References

1. ^ Princeton's WordNet
   http://wordnetweb.princeton.edu/perl/webwn?s=hostage
2. ^ Wiktionary
   https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/Hostage
3. ^ Samuel Johnson's Dictionary
   https://johnsonsdictionaryonline.com/views/search.php?term=hostage
4. ^ Wikipedia
   https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hostage
5. ^ ChatGPT
   https://chat.openai.com
6. ^ Webster Dictionary
   https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/hostage
7. ^ Wikidata
   https://www.wikidata.org/w/index.php?search=hostage
8. ^ Chambers 20th Century Dictionary
   https://www.gutenberg.org/files/37683/37683-h/37683-h.htm#:~:text=hostage
9. ^ Dictionary of Military and Associated Terms
   https://www.tradoc.army.mil/wp-content/uploads/2020/10/AD1029823-DOD-Dictionary-of-Military-and-Associated-Terms-2017.pdf
10. ^ Dictionary of Nautical Terms
    https://www.gutenberg.org/cache/epub/26000/pg26000-images.html#:~:text=hostage
11. ^ Usage in printed sources
    https://books.google.com/ngrams/graph?content=hostage