Meaning & use
abduct
Last updated
to take someone away illegally and by force, typically by kidnapping.
See it in a sentence
Police believe the suspect abducted the child from a nearby playground.
The film centers on a detective racing to find a woman who was abducted.
A note on using this word
In anatomy, "abduct" has an unrelated technical meaning: to move a limb away from the body's midline, the opposite of "adduct."
Words with a similar meaning
Choose a synonym to suit the sentence. Meanings can overlap without being identical.
Words with an opposite meaning
Another way to use it
2. verb
(anatomy) to move a limb or body part away from the midline of the body.
The muscle works to abduct the arm away from the torso.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “abduct”, then compare your use with the examples above.
Your draft stays on this page and is not sent anywhere.