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

According to their mother, Susan, the boys been kidnapped in a carjacking. —Dateline Nbc, NBC News, 19 Feb. 2025

In July 2020, Ball was the victim of a violent carjacking when two men beat him and then stole his car. —Michael McCann, Sportico.com, 18 Feb. 2025

Officers with the Kansas City Police Department met with the victim of a carjacking at a car dealership in south Kansas City on Feb. 12. —Kendrick Calfee, Kansas City Star, 14 Feb. 2025

According to the release, on Feb. 7 at around 11:40 a.m., Morton Grove Police responded to the 6900 block of Dempster Street on a call of a carjacking. —Pioneer Press, Chicago Tribune, 11 Feb. 2025

Word History

Etymology

car + (hi)jack + -ing entry 1

First Known Use

1991, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for carjacking

• attacking
• backpacking
• backtracking
• hijacking
• kayaking
• meatpacking
• ransacking
• repacking
• unpacking
• backing
• blacking
• clacking

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