ransom

Universal Words noun, verb noun [C,U] money that is paid to sb so that they will set free a person who is being kept as a prisoner by them: The kidnappers demanded a ransom of ｣50000 from his family. * a ransom demand / note * ransom money * They are refusing to pay ransom for her release. IDIOMS hold sb to ransom 1 to keep sb as a prisoner and demand that other people pay you an amount of money before you set them free 2 (disapproving) to take action that puts sb in a very difficult situation in order to force them to do what you want moreatKING verb [VN] to pay money to sb so that they will set free the person that they are keeping as a prisoner: The kidnapped children were all ransomed and returned home unharmed.