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.

verb (used without object)

1. to engage in such stealing or seizing.

noun

1. an act or instance of hijacking.

hijack

/ ˈhaɪˌdʒæk /

verb

1. (tr) to seize, divert, or appropriate (a vehicle or the goods it carries) while in transit

   to hijack an aircraft

2. to rob (a person or vehicle) by force

   to 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

noun

1. the act or an instance of hijacking

Other Word Forms

• antihijack adjective
• hijacker noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of hijack¹

An Americanism dating back to 1920–25; back formation from hijacker

Word History and Origins

Origin of hijack¹

C20: of unknown origin

Example Sentences

“I was living in a body hijacked by the medication,” says Danielle, who at 29 still is struggling to wean herself off an antidepressant.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

‘I was living in a body hijacked by the medication.’

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

“I was living in a body hijacked by the medication,” said Gansky, 29, who is still struggling to wean herself off an antidepressant.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

His analysis of American imperatives in the Middle East was plausible—up to the moment when hijacked passenger jets hit the World Trade Center and the Pentagon.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

The penalty for hijacking a plane is a minimum of 20 years in federal prison.

Read more on Los Angeles Times

Related Words

• carjack 
• commandeer 
• kidnap 
• steal