A hostage is a person who is captured and held by force, with their captors using them as leverage to get something they want. The word comes from an old practice where people were held as security to ensure promises would be kept.

When criminals take hostages, they threaten harm unless their demands are met: money, escape, or something else. A bank robber surrounded by police might hold customers hostage, using their safety as bargaining chips. Kidnappers hold their victims hostage until a ransom is paid. In war, soldiers or civilians might be taken hostage to pressure governments.

Being held hostage means being trapped in a terrifying situation where someone else controls your freedom and safety. Hostages often cannot leave, communicate freely, or know when their ordeal will end.

The word also appears in everyday expressions. When someone says they're being held hostage by a long, boring meeting, they mean they feel trapped and unable to leave. A business might be held hostage by unreasonable demands from a supplier. These uses capture that feeling of being stuck and powerless, but without the physical danger of an actual hostage situation.

Throughout history, hostage situations have ended through negotiation, rescue operations, or captors releasing their prisoners. Law enforcement agencies train specialists called hostage negotiators whose job is talking to captors and working toward peaceful resolutions.