What does hostage mean?
A hostage is a person, group, or occasionally object or place deliberately held under duress as leverage. Captors may demand money, political concessions, safe passage, or the release of other prisoners in exchange for the hostage’s freedom. In diplomacy and international relations, governments often refer to citizens or officials detained by another state as hostages, while armed groups use similar language for people seized during attacks or kidnappings. The word carries strong associations with danger, coercion, negotiation, and fear, but it also refers more broadly to anything pledged against the fulfillment of an obligation. “Hostage crisis,” “hostage release,” and “hostage negotiation” are common established expressions. Its historical sense and modern criminal and political senses share a central idea: the captive’s freedom becomes the guarantee that an obligation will be met.
nounA person or group held prisoner, typically by an armed group or state, as leverage to secure demands or the release of others. The term can also refer to property, such as a vessel or building, seized under similar conditions.
- A person or group held prisoner as leverage to compel another person, group, or government to meet demands.
- A person, object, or place seized or withheld under duress, especially in diplomacy or conflict.
- A person whose liberty is dependent on the fulfillment of another person's obligation.
"The government appealed for the release of the hostages held by the captors."
"The kidnappers released three hostages after negotiations with police."
"The ship was held as a hostage in the dispute over the disputed waters."
Use the plural when referring to more than one detained person or to multiple groups of detained people.
"The two hostages were released the following morning."
The word “hostage” preserves an ancient idea of a person kept as a pledge: the person becomes security for an obligation or the release of others.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Where does hostage come from?
The word entered English through Old French hostage, a term connected with Latin hostia, an ancient word associated with a sacrificial victim or sacred pledge. In medieval usage, a hostage was a person given or held as security for the performance of an obligation. The modern meaning developed within medieval law and diplomacy, where detaining a person provided leverage for the fulfilment of promises, debts, or political demands. The Latin connection also links the word with a wider family including hospital, hospitality, and hotel.
How hostage is actually used
The term is used in diplomacy, terrorism, warfare, kidnapping, and hostage-taking situations. It emphasizes the coercive purpose of the detention rather than merely the loss of freedom.
Easily confused with hostage
A hostage is deliberately seized and held as leverage for demands, whereas a captive is anyone deprived of freedom, often after capture in war.