carjack
Americanverb (used without object)
verb (used with object)
verb
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of carjack
Explanation
To carjack is to forcefully steal an occupied car from its driver. Sometimes a person who carjacks instructs the victim to drive somewhere. As opposed to a car thief who takes an unoccupied car from a parking lot or street, someone who carjacks might force his way into a car stopped at a red light. A person who commits this crime is called a carjacker. The word carjack is relatively new, dating only from the 1990s when the crime was rampant in certain cities. It combines car and hijack, "stealing a plane or ship while in transit."
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Brandon Bosley was charged Wednesday with one misdemeanor count of making a false report to police when he said a woman tried to carjack him last year, the St. Louis Post-Dispatch reported.
From Seattle Times • Nov. 23, 2023
The mayor of Washington D.C. said that the killer in a carjack slaying earlier this week “probably” didn’t mean to murder his victim.
From Washington Times • Mar. 10, 2022
So, why would the fear of the death penalty have any greater impact on a police officer than it would on the average person who’s trying to carjack?
From Slate • Apr. 24, 2021
Officer Lopera, who caught up to Mr. Farmer behind the hotel, said he believed he was trying to carjack a pickup truck, though the truck driver said he did not think that was the case.
From New York Times • Jun. 5, 2017
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
