hold to ransom

• hold ransom (US)
• hold for ransom (US)

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.

   Synonym: hold hostage

• “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.