skyjack

American

[skahy-jak] / ˈskaɪˌdʒæk /

verb (used with object)

to hijack (an airliner), especially in order to hold the passengers and plane for ransom or for political reasons.

skyjack British

/ ˈskaɪˌdʒæk /

verb

(tr) to commandeer (an aircraft), usually at gunpoint during flight, forcing the pilot to fly somewhere other than to the scheduled destination

"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

Other Word Forms

skyjacker noun

Etymology

Origin of skyjack

First recorded in 1965–70; sky + (hi)jack

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.

Other senior officials opted to leave, including the bureau’s top fraud expert, cryptanalyst and skyjacking expert, and the head of its Crime Information Center.

From Salon

It is the only unsolved skyjacking in American history.

From Seattle Times

But he found nothing even slightly romantic or daring about his most famous case, the Cooper skyjacking.

From Seattle Times

The skyjacking of a dissident journalist over Belarus on Sunday was a brutal action with a simple message to opponents of dictatorial President Alexander Lukashenko: We can get you anywhere.

From Washington Post

Cooper skyjacking case died earlier this month in Northern California, according to reports.

From Fox News

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023