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

Now, the male youth has discovered carjacking, with kids even coming from Washington, D.C., to take advantage of Baltimore’s soft approach on crime. —Reader Commentary, Baltimore Sun, 3 Jan. 2025

In 2023, police investigated an Oakland robbery crew that would use multiple cars to box in victims, then commit armed carjackings, authorities said at the time. —Nate Gartrell, The Mercury News, 2 Jan. 2025

During the investigation, officers learned Lymon was a suspect in a recent carjacking in California that resulted in a victim being hospitalized, Buckeye police confirmed. —Karen Bartunek, The Arizona Republic, 30 Dec. 2024

Burns was killed in Ohio following a carjacking at a West Virginia mall by Basham and Fulks as part of a deadly weekslong crime spree through multiple states after escaping from a jail in Hopkins County, Kentucky. —Ramsey Touchberry, Washington Examiner - Political News and Conservative Analysis About Congress, the President, and the Federal Government, 27 Dec. 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