Dictionary.com
definitions
  • synonyms

highjack

[hahy-jak]
See more synonyms for highjack on Thesaurus.com
verb (used with or without object), noun
  1. hijack.
Show More

hijack

or high·jack

[hahy-jak]
verb (used with object)
  1. to steal (cargo) from a truck or other vehicle after forcing it to stop: to hijack a load of whiskey.
  2. to rob (a vehicle) after forcing it to stop: They hijacked the truck before it entered the city.
  3. to seize (a vehicle) by force or threat of force.
  4. to skyjack.
Show More
verb (used without object)
  1. to engage in such stealing or seizing.
Show More
noun
  1. an act or instance or hijacking.
Show More

Origin of hijack

1920–25, Americanism; back formation from hijacker
Related formsan·ti·hi·jack, adjective
Can be confusedhijack kidnap shanghai skyjack
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018
British Dictionary definitions for highjack

highjack

verb, noun
  1. a less common spelling of hijack
Show More
Derived Formshighjacker, noun

hijack

highjack

verb
  1. (tr) to seize, divert, or appropriate (a vehicle or the goods it carries) while in transitto hijack an aircraft
  2. to rob (a person or vehicle) by forceto hijack a traveller
  3. (esp in the US during Prohibition) to rob (a bootlegger or smuggler) of his illicit goods or to steal (illicit goods) in transit
Show More
noun
  1. the act or an instance of hijacking
Show More
Derived Formshijacker or highjacker, noun

Word Origin

C20: of unknown origin
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for highjack

hijack

v.

1922, American English, perhaps from high(way) + jacker "one who holds up." Originally "to rob (a bootlegger, smuggler, etc.) in transit;" sense of "seizing an aircraft in flight" is 1968 (also in 1961 variant skyjack), extended 1970s to any form of public transportation. Related: Hijacked; hijacking.

Show More
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper