From Longman Dictionary of Contemporary Englishransomran‧som1 /ˈrænsəm/ noun [countable] 1 SCan amount of money that is paid to free someone who is held as a prisoner The kidnappers were demanding a ransom of $250,000. The government refused to pay the ransom.ransom demand/note There has still been no ransom demand. He’s got the ransom money.2 → hold somebody for ransom3 → hold somebody to ransom
Examples from the Corpus
ransom• Note from Heron's Liberation Front demanding ransom for return of Gnome.• But dead men paid no ransoms.• I read the appeal in the newspapers for Madame V to come forward, but they said nothing about abduction or ransom.• But sometimes I want to be pampered like royalty - without having to pay a king's ransom.• It wouldn't matter if you'd been promised a king's ransom if you achieved a lucky jump to the scorpion.• After the families of the two men were contacted, the ransom was upped to $ 1 million.• Maybe the scarred man had suspected something and wanted a cut of the ransom.demanding ... ransom• Note from Heron's Liberation Front demanding ransom for return of Gnome.• We are used to evil men demanding a ransom before their victim can be released.ransomransom2 verb [transitive] SCto pay an amount of money so that someone who is being held as a prisoner is set free They were all ransomed and returned unharmed.→ See Verb tableExamples from the Corpus
ransom• They were all ransomed and returned unharmed.• North, carefully distracting Livingstone from the thought that hostages might have been ransomed for arms, gave him the Whole Picture.• We know that many among ourselves have given themselves to bondage that they might ransom others.Origin ransom1 (1200-1300) Old French rançon, from Latin redemptio; → REDEMPTION 