verb (used with or without object), noun verb (used with object) to steal (cargo) from a truck or other vehicle after forcing it to stop: to hijack a load of whiskey.
to rob (a vehicle) after forcing it to stop: They hijacked the truck before it entered the city.
to seize (a vehicle) by force or threat of force.
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verb (used without object) to engage in such stealing or seizing.
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noun an act or instance or hijacking.
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Origin of hijack 1920–25, Americanism ; back formation from
hijacker Related forms an·ti·hi·jack , adjective Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019
Related Words for highjack wrest ,
preempt ,
supplant ,
annex ,
commandeer ,
seize ,
assume ,
arrogate ,
swipe ,
displace ,
appropriate ,
take ,
grab ,
accroach British Dictionary definitions for highjack verb , noun a less common spelling of hijack Show More
Derived Forms highjacker , noun verb (tr) to seize, divert, or appropriate (a vehicle or the goods it carries) while in transit to hijack an aircraft
to rob (a person or vehicle) by force to hijack a traveller
(esp in the US during Prohibition) to rob (a bootlegger or smuggler) of his illicit goods or to steal (illicit goods) in transit
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noun the act or an instance of hijacking
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Derived Forms hijacker or highjacker , noun Word Origin for hijack 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 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 .
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Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
