hold to ransom

== English == === Alternative forms === hold ransom (US) hold for ransom (US) === 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) (UK, transitive) To hold (someone) hostage until a ransom is paid. Synonym: hold hostage ==== Translations ==== ==== Further reading ==== “hold sb to ransom”, in Cambridge English Dictionary, Cambridge, Cambridgeshire: Cambridge University Press, 1999–present. “hold someone to ransom” (UK) in Macmillan English Dictionary. “hold somebody to ransom” in Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English, Longman. “hold to ransom”, in Collins English Dictionary. “hold someone to ransom”, in Lexico, Dictionary.com; Oxford University Press, 2019–2022.