0 a person or animal whose ability to move or act freely is limited by being kept in a space; a prisoner, especially a person held by the enemy during a war: --
The terrorists were holding several diplomats captive.
When the town was recaptured, we found soldiers who had been captives for several years.
1 (of a person or an animal) having limited ability to move or act freely because of being kept in a space: --
News that the soldiers were captive after being held at gunpoint caused panic.
The government handed him over to rebels in return for captive soldiers.
If it is successful, captive breeding could restore the population to 200 in seven years.
Wildlife officials say double fences would help prevent the spread of disease between wild and captive animals.
2 a prisoner, esp. a person held by the enemy during a war --
4 not having a choice about what services, goods, etc. you buy because there is only one or there are only a few available in the place where you are: --
Utility companies could be fined for overcharging captive customers or undercharging consumers who have a choice of supplier.
Long-distance airline passengers are the perfect captive market.
In the cinema, advertisers know that they have a captive audience.
While this report identifies cattle and salt as items exchanged for captives, cowrie shells were probably more important.
She balances the captives' historic perspective with a culturally sensitive synopsis of the captors.
Even then, the social and ecological environment of the captives is far from natural.
By stepping on the captives, the military victories of the rulers were reenacted.
Furthermore, demographic growth was primarily achieved by integrating captives.
Sweet handles his riches with the care they deserve, writing a true ' page turner ', which provides heart-wrenching details about the experiences of individual captives.
Through judicious techniques of estimation, the editors have projected that some 7 million captives were aboard the vessels in the database.
However, the behavior of captives, who are influenced by human caretakers and artificial environments, is irrelevant here.
