captive audience

noun

: a person or people who are unable to leave a place and are thus forced to listen to what is being said
The passengers on the plane were a captive audience.

Examples of captive audience in a Sentence

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Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
But companies have employees as a captive audience for maybe 40 hours a week. — Tyler Shepherd, USA Today, 7 Apr. 2025 One concern about living the resort life, especially for a foodie craving som tum and kaprow moo sop kai dow, is that a captive audience equates to mediocre food. — Lauren Mowery, Forbes, 25 Feb. 2025

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captive
captive audience
captive bolt
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“Captive audience.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/captive%20audience. Accessed 9 Jun. 2025.

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