kidnap

[ kid-nap ]

/ ˈkɪd næp /

SEE SYNONYMS FOR kidnap ON THESAURUS.COM

verb (used with object), kid·napped or kid·naped, kid·nap·ping or kid·nap·ing.

to steal, carry off, or abduct by force or fraud, especially for use as a hostage or to extract ransom.

Origin of kidnap

1675–85; kid¹ + nap, variant of nab

SYNONYMS FOR kidnap

seize, bear off, bear away.

SEE SYNONYMS FOR kidnap ON THESAURUS.COM

OTHER WORDS FROM kidnap

kid·nap·pee, kid·nap·ee, noun kid·nap·per, kid·nap·er, noun un·kid·naped, adjective un·kid·napped, adjective

WORDS THAT MAY BE CONFUSED WITH kidnap

hijack kidnap shanghai skyjack

Words nearby kidnap

kiddo, kiddush, kiddy, kideo, kidman, kidnap, kidnapped, kidney, kidney bean, kidney corpuscle, kidney machine

Example sentences from the Web for kidnapping

Lalo said he reported the kidnapping to his ICE handlers, which was confirmed by a former federal agent familiar with the case.

An Informant, a Missing American, and Juarez’s House of Death: Inside the 12-Year Cold Case of David Castro |Bill Conroy |January 6, 2015 |DAILY BEAST
Afraid the Korean secret police would not believe his kidnapping story, Shin settled in Hollywood.

Propaganda, Protest, and Poisonous Vipers: The Cinema War in Korea |Rich Goldstein |December 30, 2014 |DAILY BEAST
More recently, Boko Haram shocked the world by kidnapping 276 female students and threatened to traffic them.

ISIS, Boko Haram, and the Growing Role of Human Trafficking in 21st Century Terrorism |Louise I. Shelley |December 26, 2014 |DAILY BEAST
At the same time, we should expect a rise in kidnapping for ransom.

To Kill the ISIS Monster You Gotta Do More Than Cut Off Its Money |Charlie Winter |November 18, 2014 |DAILY BEAST

Rõivas called the kidnapping of a counterintelligence official a serious crime “unacceptable to any Estonian.”

Russia Steps Up Pressure on the Baltics |Will Cathcart |September 5, 2014 |DAILY BEAST
The shame and scandal of kidnapping will long remain wholly monopolized by the American congress.

My Bondage and My Freedom |Frederick Douglass
It—for instance, it might be abduction, kidnapping—for a ransom.

The Window at the White Cat |Mary Roberts Rinehart
And it is thus I should explain the kidnapping habits of the red ants.

The Insect |Jules Michelet
A warrant was also issued for the arrest of Colonel Williams, the leader of the kidnapping party.

Wilford Woodruff |Matthias F. Cowley
Kidnapping was so common, while I lived with the Doctor, that we were kept in constant fear.

The Atlantic Monthly, Volume 17, No. 100, February, 1866 |Various

British Dictionary definitions for kidnapping

kidnap

/ (ˈkɪdnæp) /

verb -naps, -napping or -napped or US -naps, -naping or -naped

(tr) to carry off and hold (a person), usually for ransom

Derived forms of kidnap

kidnapper or US kidnaper, noun kidnapping or US kidnaping, noun

Word Origin for kidnap

C17: kid 1 + obsolete nap to steal; see nab

BROWSE DICTIONARY

Learning

kidnap

verb (used with object), kid·napped or kid·naped, kid·nap·ping or kid·nap·ing.

Origin of kidnap

SYNONYMS FOR kidnap

OTHER WORDS FROM kidnap

WORDS THAT MAY BE CONFUSED WITH kidnap

Words nearby kidnap

Example sentences from the Web for kidnapping

British Dictionary definitions for kidnapping

verb -naps, -napping or -napped or US -naps, -naping or -naped

Derived forms of kidnap

Word Origin for kidnap

BROWSE DICTIONARY

Learning

kidnap

verb (used with object), kid·napped or kid·naped, kid·nap·ping or kid·nap·ing.

Origin of kidnap

SYNONYMS FOR kidnap

OTHER WORDS FROM kidnap

WORDS THAT MAY BE CONFUSED WITH kidnap

Words nearby kidnap

Words related to kidnapping

Example sentences from the Web for kidnapping

(adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []) .push({}); British Dictionary definitions for kidnapping

verb -naps, -napping or -napped or US -naps, -naping or -naped

Derived forms of kidnap

Word Origin for kidnap

British Dictionary definitions for kidnapping