Definitions
from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.
- transitive verb To carry off by force; kidnap.
- transitive verb Physiology To draw away from the midline of the body or from an adjacent part or limb.
from The Century Dictionary.
- To lead away or carry off surreptitiously or by force; kidnap.
- In physiology, to move or draw away (a limb) from the axis of the body, or (a digit) from the axis of the limb: opposed to adduct.
from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.
- transitive verb To take away surreptitiously by force; to carry away (a human being) wrongfully and usually by violence; to kidnap.
- transitive verb To draw away, as a limb or other part, from its ordinary position.
from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.
- verb take away to an undisclosed location against their will and usually in order to extract a ransom
- verb pull away from the body
Etymologies
from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition
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Examples
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Thousands of people are going to symbolically 'abduct' themselves and stand in solidarity with all the abducted children forced to fight as soldiers.
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The Ganymede myth was a cornerstone of Greek pederast culture, especially on the island of Crete, where inhabitants performed a ritual described by the Greek historian Ephorus: men would ceremonially "abduct" young boys, taking them into the countryside for two months of feasting, hunting, and sexual intercourse.
Frankie Thomas: The Children Are Our Future -- But What Is In Their Sordid Past? 2008
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And might ETs, on occasion, "abduct" CTs as well as humans?
Posthuman Blues Mac 2006
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The teacher asked little mary and little mary said "abduct,"
[Help] Most Recent Posts Sugar! 2010
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Petit Jackson also accuses the Thriller hitmaker's mother, Katherine Jackson, of scheming to "abduct" her when she was nine in a bid to preserve the superstar's "reputation".
Ottawa Sun 2010
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Ms Petit Jackson alleged that when she was nine years old, Jackson's mother Katherine devised a plan to "abduct" her and sent her to Belgium to protect her son's "reputation".
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In the filing, Kaine Horman accused Terri Horman of going to the gym looking to "abduct" their daughter.
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That court motion also detailed an alleged sexual affair with one of Kaine's high school classmates, and a reported attempt to "abduct" the couple's young daughter Kiara.
KING - Home 2010
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That court motion also detailed an alleged sexual affair with one of Kaine's high school classmates, and a reported attempt to "abduct" the couple's young daughter Kiara.
NWCN - Top Stories 2010
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The local part of a global rally, the event is orchestrated by a nonprofit called Invisible Children that's asking volunteers in 100 cities to "abduct" themselves, march to a public place and wait there until they are rescued by prominent state figures and media.
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