carjacking

noun

car·​jack·​ing ˈkär-ˌja-kiŋ 

: the theft of an automobile from its driver by force or intimidation

In the cities and suburbs, where muggings and carjackings are a daily concern, voters are wondering how many of the nation's 200 million guns are pointed at them.

—Richard Lacayo

… Congress made a show of getting tough on crime by making armed carjackings a federal crime.

—Janet Novack

carjack

ˈkär-ˌjak 

transitive verb

carjacked; carjacking; carjacks

Several weeks after the shooting, a woman my age was carjacked there.

—Susan Straight

carjacker

ˈkär-ˌja-kər 

noun

plural carjackers

If you're confronted by a carjacker, be cooperative. The big picture: It's your car versus your life.

—Amy Lumet

Examples of carjacking in a Sentence

The police are investigating another carjacking.

Recent Examples on the Web

The carjacking was reported at Washington Hospital Center Monday afternoon, police said. —Alexander Mallin, ABC News, 3 June 2024

Armed events, including carjackings and shootings, accounted for 6.1% of calls to Kansas City, Missouri, police last month, according to KCPD data. —Ilana Arougheti, Kansas City Star, 31 May 2024

According to probable cause affidavits, the teens were described as complicit in the carjacking. —Omar Rodríguez Ortiz, Miami Herald, 15 May 2024

According to San Jose police, officers were called at 1:34 a.m. the morning of April 4 for a report of a carjacking at a home in the 2800 block of Gay Avenue, two blocks east of North Capitol Avenue. —Robert Salonga, The Mercury News, 21 May 2024

Word History

Etymology

car + (hi)jack + -ing entry 1

First Known Use

1991, in the meaning defined above

Legal Definition

carjacking

noun

car·​jack·​ing ˈkär-ˌja-kiŋ 

: theft by force or intimidation of an auto that has a driver or passenger present