kidnapped also kidnaped
ˈkid-ˌnapt 
; kidnapping also kidnaping
; kidnapping also kidnaping
: to seize and detain or carry away by unlawful force or fraud and often with a demand for ransom
kidnapper
noun
or less commonly kidnaper
Examples of kidnap in a Sentence
the child of the wealthy industrialist was kidnapped and held for ransom
Recent Examples on the Web
Michigan governor targeted for kidnapping Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer became a target for anti-government sentiment in 2020, when more than a dozen members of a group intent on inciting civil war allegedly conspired to kidnap her.
—
Savannah Kuchar, USA Today, 14 Apr. 2025
In 2020, Whitmer called out Trump over an extremist plot to kidnap herin which a group of men planned to kidnap her from her vacation home ahead of the November presidential election.
—Thomas G. Moukawsher, MSNBC Newsweek, 13 Apr. 2025
The Trump administration started indirect talks with Iran’s clerical regime on Saturday in Oman, a Mideast country, where Jimmy was taken after he was kidnapped in the UAE and later moved to Iran.
—Benjamin Weinthal, FOXNews.com, 13 Apr. 2025
The search for an American missionary continued on Sunday in South Africa after his Tennessee church said he was reportedly kidnapped at gunpoint during a service last week.
—Morgan Winsor, ABC News, 13 Apr. 2025
See All Example Sentences for kidnap
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Savannah Kuchar, USA Today, 14 Apr. 2025
In 2020, Whitmer called out Trump over an extremist plot to kidnap herin which a group of men planned to kidnap her from her vacation home ahead of the November presidential election.
—Thomas G. Moukawsher, MSNBC Newsweek, 13 Apr. 2025
The Trump administration started indirect talks with Iran’s clerical regime on Saturday in Oman, a Mideast country, where Jimmy was taken after he was kidnapped in the UAE and later moved to Iran.
—Benjamin Weinthal, FOXNews.com, 13 Apr. 2025
The search for an American missionary continued on Sunday in South Africa after his Tennessee church said he was reportedly kidnapped at gunpoint during a service last week.
—Morgan Winsor, ABC News, 13 Apr. 2025
See All Example Sentences for kidnap
Cite this Entry
“Kidnap.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/kidnap. Accessed 18 Apr. 2025.
Copy CitationKids Definition
Legal Definition
Etymology
probably back-formation from kidnapper, from kid child + obsolete napper thief
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