abduction
noun
ab·duc·tion
ab-ˈdək-shən 
əb-
Examples of abduction in a Sentence
discredited reports of abductions by aliens
Recent Examples on the Web
In March 2023, the ICC issued an arrest warrant for Putin for war crimes, accusing him of responsibility for the abductions of children from Ukraine.
—
Justin Spike, Los Angeles Times, 4 Apr. 2025
The Yale School of Public Health Humanitarian Research Lab, which was tracking the abductions, had counted more than 30,000 children taken from Ukraine to Russia and Belarus since Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine began in 2022.
—Edward Wong, New York Times, 28 Mar. 2025
Every victim is forgotten because to remember - the rapes and child abductions in Ukraine - is to take on responsibility and therefore to begin worrying.
—Melik Kaylan, Forbes, 22 Mar. 2025
Officers responded to a kidnapping abduction call at an apartment complex on the southeast side of Austin at 1:38 p.m. Friday, March 14, the Austin Police Department said in a news release.
—Mitchell Willetts, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 20 Mar. 2025
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Cite this Entry
“Abduction.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/abduction. Accessed 13 Apr. 2025.
Legal Definition
abduction
noun
ab·duc·tion
ab-ˈdək-shən, əb-
1
a
: the action of abducting
abduction of a robbery victim
b
: the tort or felony of abducting a person
2
: the unlawful carrying away of a wife or female child or ward for the purpose of marriage or sexual intercourse
Note: Sense 2 has its roots in common law. As statutorily defined, mainly in the nineteenth century, abduction was generally stated to include taking away or detention of a woman under a certain age, usually 16 or 18, with or without her consent or knowledge of her age.
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