Word.ws English Dictionary

holds to ransom

holds to ransom is the third-person singular simple present indicative of hold to ransom.

Meaning of hold to ransom

Verb

hold to ransom (third-person singular simple present holds to ransom, present participle holding to ransom, simple past and past participle held to ransom)

  1. (UK, transitive) To hold (someone) hostage until a ransom is paid.
    Synonyms:
    hold hostage

Questions about holds to ransom

What is holds to ransom the third-person singular simple present indicative of?
Holds to ransom is the third-person singular simple present indicative of hold to ransom.

Words near holds to ransom in the dictionary

  1. holds the road
  2. holds the stage
  3. holds tight
  4. holds to
  5. holds to account
  6. holds to ransom
  7. holds together
  8. holds true
  9. holds up
  10. holds up a mirror to
  11. holds up as

Source and license

Adapted from Wiktionary: holds to ransom (page history and authors); hold to ransom (page history and authors). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.

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