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

Packages were stolen from a FedEx truck after the driver was the victim of an armed carjacking Friday afternoon, according to Baltimore Police. —Ellie Buckheit, Baltimore Sun, 14 Dec. 2024

May 28: Jerrett Dwain Gray Jr., 20, was a suspect in an armed carjacking when he was fatally shot while trying to flee police in the Cavalier Court apartment complex. —Ryan Murphy, The Indianapolis Star, 12 Dec. 2024

In his guilty plea, Dewitt acknowledged committing a carjacking at gunpoint on March 1, 2021, taking the wheel of a 2011 Ford F-350 in Simpsonville and driving it into Louisville. —Lucas Aulbach, The Courier-Journal, 31 Oct. 2024

In November 2024, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Western District of Louisiana announced a federal grand jury returned an indictment charging Brandon Jermaine Francisco with the 2022 carjacking that resulted in the death of Ella Goodie. —Kyani Reid, NBC News, 27 Nov. 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