hostage Hear it!

hostage definition

hos·tage (häs′tij)

noun

  1. a person given as a pledge, or taken prisoner as by an enemy or terrorist, until certain conditions are met
  2. Obsolete the state of being a hostage

Etymology: ME < OFr < hoste: see host

hostage Idioms

give hostages to fortune

to get and be responsible for a family; esp., children

Webster's New World College Dictionary Copyright © 2009 by Wiley Publishing, Inc., Cleveland, Ohio.
Used by arrangement with John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

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