kidnap
Oxford 5000 vocabulary |C1|kid‧nap /ˈkɪdnæp/ verb (past tense and past participle kidnapped, present participle kidnapping, also kidnaped, kidnaping) [transitive]
kidnap[verb]Synonyms: abduct, capture, hijack, hold to ransom, seize
Contrasted words: deliver, ransom, redeem, rescue, bring (back), give back, restore, return
Related Idioms: make off with
Related Words: shanghai,
waylay,
coax,
decoy,
entice,
inveigh,
lure,
seduce [TahlilGaran] English Synonym Dictionary ▲
kid‧nap /ˈkɪdnæp/
verb (
past tense and past participle kidnapped,
present participle kidnapping, also kidnaped,
kidnaping American English)
[transitive][
Date: 1600-1700;
Origin: kid 'child' + nap 'to take, seize' (17-19 centuries)]
to take someone somewhere illegally by force, often in order to get money for returning them ⇒
ransom:
Police appealed for witnesses after a woman was kidnapped at gunpoint.—kidnapper noun [countable]:
the hunt for the kidnapper—kidnapping (
also kidnap)
noun [uncountable and countable]:
a series of kidnappings [TahlilGaran] Dictionary of Contemporary English ▲