kidnapping
/ˈkɪdnæpɪŋ/noun, verb
kidnapping is spelled K-I-D-N-A-P-P-I-N-G: 10 letters and 3 syllables. It appears 5.9 times per million words in written English, the 10,028th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a noun, kidnapping means “The crime of taking a person against their will, sometimes for ransom” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). The plural of kidnapping is kidnappings.
How many letters and syllables are in kidnapping?
| Letters | 10: K-I-D-N-A-P-P-I-N-G |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 3 (from its American pronunciation) |
| In writing | 5.9 times per million words; the 10,028th most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation and the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How common is kidnapping?
Kidnapping appears 5.9 times per million words in written English, the 10,028th most frequent word form in the list.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How do you pronounce kidnapping?
- /ˈkɪdnæpɪŋ/
Kidnapping has 3 syllables (counted from its American pronunciation in the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: LL-Q1860_(eng)-Wodencafe-kidnapping.wav, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
Forms of kidnapping
- kidnappings plural
- kidnaping US
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does kidnapping mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
noun
- 1
The crime of taking a person against their will, sometimes for ransom.
verb
- 1
present participle and gerund of kidnap
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Kidnapping in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
In the sense the crime of taking a person against their will, sometimes for ransom:
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| French | enlèvement, kidnapping, rapt |
| German | Entführung, Menschenraub, Kinderraub, Kidnapping |
| Portuguese | sequestro, rapto |
| Spanish | secuestro |
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.