captive

Universal Words adjective, noun adjective 1 kept as a prisoner or in an enclosed space; unable to escape: captive animals * They were taken captive by masked gunmen. * captive breeding (= the catching and breeding of wild animals) 2 [onlybeforenoun] not free to leave a particular place or to choose what you want do to: A salesman loves to have a captive audience (= listening because they have no choice). noun a person who is kept as a prisoner, especially in a war: Talks have persuaded the terrorists to set the captives free.