hostage

/ˈhɒs.tɪd͡ʒ/

//ˈhɒs.tɪd͡ʒ// noun

By · According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA) ·

"hostage" is a 7-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“hostage” has 10 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #8,301. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#8,301
frequency rank, English
2,646
“H” headwords
10
tracked misspellings
2
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - A person given as a pledge or security for the performance of the conditions of a treaty or similar agreement, such as to ensure the status of a vassal.

Corpus desk

Index EN-hostage · hostage · English

hostage · rank #8,301 · 10 variants · 2 confusables

  • FREQ-COMMON #8,301
  • LEN-LONG 7 letters
  • VOW-3 3 vowels
  • CONFUS-LOW 2 pairs
  • VAR-MID 10 variants
  • BOOK-MID 2,646
  • PHOTO-FINISH hospitality

Nearest frequency peer: hospitality (-1 rank slots)

Read with this headword: Spelling guide for this pattern

Desk codes from Wiktionary headword shape, FrequencyWords rank tier, confusable-pair count, generated misspelling depth, letter-cohort book size, and photo-finish peer. Not a difficulty grade.

Rank peers near misspelling magnet “hostage”

Same rarity band: useful when a typo lands on a peer headword

corpus weight

What this shows “hostage” sits among these FrequencyWords peers; misspelling depth is tracked separately in the edit-distance chart.

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 3, 2026

Visual similarity to commonly confused words

How many letter changes separate each confused pair (Levenshtein distance, normalized).

hostage vs hostile
71% similar
hostage vs homage
71% similar

Source: PlainSpell confusable corpus (Wiktionary, CC BY-SA).

Key facts for hostage
PropertyValue
Headwordhostage
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/ˈhɒs.tɪd͡ʒ/
Letters7
Frequency rank#8,301
Misspellings tracked10
Confusable pairs2
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Frequency seat of misspelling magnet “hostage”

Word frequency stretches from the small set of words we reach for constantly (left) out to the long tail barely used once in a while (right).hostagelands here:

#1#100#1K#10K#100K
← used constantlyrarely used →

Ticks step logarithmically, so each one marks a roughly tenfold drop in how often the word turns up. Same rarity band neighbours include “hospitality” (#8,300), “hottest” (#8,302), “horizontal” (#8,299). Among 2,646 “H” headwords, “hostage” is #8,301. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 10 spelling variants around hostage (IPA /ˈhɒs.tɪd͡ʒ/), anoun. Corpus frequency is #8,301 among 2,646 “H” headwords. Wiktionary lists 5 senses, so context still picks the gloss.

Our generated misspelling index lists 10 likely wrong-spelling variants for hostage, with forms such as "hhostage", "hosatge", and "hosstage". Each variant is a distinct typo pattern an edit-distance generator flags, typically a doubled-consonant error, a silent-letter drop, or a vowel substitution. It also participates in 2 confusable-pair relationships, "hostile", "homage", where similar look or sound leads writers to substitute one word for another in context.

Etymologically, the entry records: From Middle English hostage, ostage, from Old French hostage, ostage. This, in turn, is either from Old French hoste (“host”) + -age (in which case the sense development is from taking someone into "lodging" to taking them into "captivity", to applying the … The correct English form is hostage, spelled H-O-S-T-A-G-E.

Definition

  1. 1
    A person given as a pledge or security for the performance of the conditions of a treaty or similar agreement, such as to ensure the status of a vassal.
  2. 2
    A person seized in order to compel another party to act (or refrain from acting) in a certain way, because of the threat of harm to the hostage.
  3. 3
    Something that constrains one's actions because it is at risk.
  4. 4
    One who is compelled by something, especially something that poses a threat; one who is not free to choose their own course of action.
  5. 5
    The condition of being held as security or to compel someone else to act or not act in a particular way.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

These source excerpts show how hostage appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.

  1. And there with alle was made hostage on bothe partyes and made hit as sure as hit myghte be that whether party had the vyctory soo to ende. "And therewithal was made hostage on both parties, and made it as sure as it might be, that whether party had the victory, so to end."
  2. There are instances in which a state accepted a princess both from Han and from the Hsiung-nu, and "once Lou-lan had surrendered and presented tributary gifts [to the Han emperor], the Hsiung-nu heard of those events and sent out troups to attack [Lou-lan]. Whereupon [the king of] Lou-lan sent one son as a hostage to the Hsiung-nu and one as hostage to Han."

Etymology

From Middle English hostage, ostage, from Old French hostage, ostage. This, in turn, is either from Old French hoste (“host”) + -age (in which case the sense development is from taking someone into "lodging" to taking them into "captivity", to applying the term to a captive), or is from Vulgar Latin obsidāticum (“condition of being held captive”), from Latin obses (“hostage, captive”), with the initial h- added under the influence of hoste or another word. Displaced native Old English ġīsl.

This word in other languages

rehén(Español)otage(Français)Geisel(Deutsch)refém(Português)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • hhostage
  • hosatge
  • hosstage
  • hostaeg
  • hostagge
  • hostgae
  • hosttage
  • hotsage
  • hsotage
  • ohstage

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of hostage - counted as single-character edits (an insertion, a deletion, or a substituted letter). The larger the bar, the easier the typo is to spot; one-edit slips are the ones that sneak past readers.

hhostage1hosatge2hosstage1hostaeg2hostagge1hostgae2hosttage1hotsage2
Edit distance from "hostage"

Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA); frequency ordering uses the FrequencyWords open word-frequency list (2018 English corpus, MIT). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "hostage"?
"hostage" is spelled H-O-S-T-A-G-E. The IPA pronunciation is /ˈhɒs.tɪd͡ʒ/.
What does "hostage" mean?
As a noun, "hostage" means: A person given as a pledge or security for the performance of the conditions of a treaty or similar agreement, such as to ensure the status of a vassal.
What words are commonly confused with "hostage"?
"hostage" is commonly confused with "hostile", "homage". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "hostage"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "hostage" is /ˈhɒs.tɪd͡ʒ/. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What is the origin of the word "hostage"?
From Middle English hostage, ostage, from Old French hostage, ostage. This, in turn, is either from Old French hoste (“host”) + -age (in which case the sense development is from taking someone into "lodging" to taking them into "captivity", to app... See the full etymology section above for more details.
Is PlainSpell free to use?
Yes, PlainSpell is a completely free word reference. You can look up definitions, pronunciations, confusable pairs, homophones, and spelling corrections across 5 languages without any sign-up or subscription.

Similar English words by spelling shape

Same letter count and similar misspelling depth for "hostage", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 7 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

hottest#8,302griffin#8,297Jeffrey#8,305Kenneth#8,306

Similar misspelling depth

Headwords with a similar count of attested misspellings (10 here; floor ≥5).

gesture10 variantscracks10 variantsrebuild10 variantscleaner10 variants

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list