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# kidnap

verb (kidnap, kidnaps, kidnapped, kidnapping — US also kidnaped, kidnaping); noun (a kidnap, kidnaps — UK)

«kidnap» in the English dictionary: everyday — its meanings, how the lessons use it, and examples, each with its tree on Mova.

## Everyday

1. (law) To take a person away by force or by tricking them, and keep them against their will, often to demand money. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/K/kidnap/#m1)
2. (noun, UK) The crime of kidnapping. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/K/kidnap/#m2)

### In the lessons

In safety lessons children learn to stay with trusted adults, never go off with strangers, and tell someone if anyone tries to take them; in stories and news, kidnapping is a serious crime and often the start of an adventure or mystery. In law, kidnapping is punished with long prison sentences. Phrases: kidnap someone, a kidnap attempt, held for ransom.

### Examples

- The villain planned to kidnap the princess. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/K/kidnap/#x1)
- Never get into a stranger's car, even if they say your mum sent them. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/K/kidnap/#x2)
- The police rescued the kidnapped boy within a day. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/K/kidnap/#x3)
- The kidnappers asked for a ransom of one million dollars. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/K/kidnap/#x4)
- In the book, pirates kidnap the hero and take him to sea. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/K/kidnap/#x5)
- The news reported a failed kidnap attempt. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/K/kidnap/#x6)
- My little brother «kidnapped» my teddy, but I got it back! [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/K/kidnap/#x7)
- “Captain,” said Smee, “could we not kidnap these boys’ mother and make her our mother?” [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/K/kidnap/#x8)

### Note

Spelling: double «p» in kidnapped, kidnapping, kidnapper in UK English (US sometimes single «p»). A kidnapper is the criminal; the money demanded is a ransom. Joking use about toys or pets is common among children. Not related to «kid» meaning a goat in its use today, though «kid» = child.

## On Mova

- [Trees and pragmatics of «kidnap» in the school dictionary](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/K/kidnap/): every meaning and example parsed by Mova, with its dependency tree and frames.
- [«kidnap» in the school dictionary](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/dictionaries/school/w/kidnap.html) on Mova free.