Word Pronunciation & Dictionary

kidnapper

/ˈkɪdnæpɚ/

Word Rarity Rare

Frequency: Zipf frequency 2.77 in modern English

Syllables: kid-nap-per
IPA: /ˈkɪdnæpɚ/

18

Scrabble Score

9

Letters

3

Syllables

8

Unique Chars

Meaning

noun

A person who kidnaps someone.

Etymology

Etymology tree English kidnap Proto-Indo-European *-yósder. Proto-Italic *-āzios Latin -āriusnom. Latin -āriusbor. Proto-Germanic *-ārijaz Proto-West Germanic *-ārī Old English -ere Middle English -ere English -er English kidnapper From kidnap + -er.

Regional Pronunciation

American English: /ˈkɪdnæpɚ/

Inflected Forms

kidnappers (plural) kidnaper (alternative)

Derived Forms

birdnapper carnapper catnapper dognapper petnapper pignapper

Frequently Paired Words

kidnap

Synonyms

kidnaper abductor snatcher

Questions

How do you pronounce kidnapper?: The recorded pronunciation is /ˈkɪdnæpɚ/.
What does kidnapper mean?: A person who kidnaps someone.
Where does kidnapper come from?: Etymology tree English kidnap Proto-Indo-European *-yósder. Proto-Italic *-āzios Latin -āriusnom. Latin -āriusbor. Proto-Germanic *-ārijaz Proto-West Germanic *-ārī Old English -ere Middle English -ere English -er English kidnapper From kidnap + -er.

How to pronounce kidnapper

Open the pronunciation page — Open the Speakur entry for “kidnapper”.
Read the phonetic spelling — Read the IPA spelling (/ˈkɪdnæpɚ/) so you know which sounds to aim for.
Play the audio — Click Play to hear reference audio for “kidnapper”.
Repeat and practice — Say “kidnapper” aloud, matching stress and vowels until it feels natural.