Liberal Dictionary English Dictionary
noun
- a novel (1886) by Robert Louis Stevenson.
verb (used with object), kid·napped or kid·naped, kid·nap·ping or kid·nap·ing.
- to steal, carry off, or abduct by force or fraud, especially for use as a hostage or to extract ransom.
verb -naps, -napping or -napped or US -naps, -naping or -naped
- (tr) to carry off and hold (a person), usually for ransom
1680s, compound of kid (n.) “child” and nap “snatch away,” variant of nab; originally “steal children to provide servants and laborers in the American colonies.” Related: Kidnapped; kidnapping.