road rage

noun

: a motorist's uncontrolled anger that is usually triggered by an action of another motorist and that is expressed in aggressive or violent behavior

From punching cars to shooting drivers, road rage … takes many forms.

—Natalie La Roche Pietri

Drivers reported experiencing road rage most frequently on city streets (29.18%), on freeways or highways (26.59%) and in parking lots (14.9%).

—Ashlee Tilford

—often used before another noun

a road rage incident

An apparent road rage shooting left one person wounded …

—Anna Spoerre

road rager

ˈrōd-ˌrā-jər 

noun

plural road ragers

Other drivers may have similar feelings or thoughts, but only the road rager responds with dangerous behavior: tailgating, pulling right in front of you at high speeds, running you off the road, refusing to let you into traffic, and so on.

—Michael Karson

Examples of road rage in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

The Police Department was investigating Styles’ death as a fatal road rage incident that escalated to a fight in the intersection. —Rosalio Ahumada, Sacramento Bee, 19 Mar. 2025

One person was shot in the neck Saturday evening in a road rage incident near Broomfield’s Flatiron Crossing mall and police are searching for a suspect. —Lauren Penington, The Denver Post, 17 Mar. 2025

Listen to this article A road rage incident in Southington on Thursday led to charges against one man and another receiving an infraction for allegedly throwing something from his vehicle. —Justin Muszynski, Hartford Courant, 14 Mar. 2025

White and another person were driving on 28th Street when they got involved in a road rage incident with someone in another car, according to investigators. —Harriet Ramos, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 13 Mar. 2025

Word History

First Known Use

1988, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for road rage

• assuage
• backstage
• bocage
• downstage
• engage
• enrage
• leafage
• messuage
• offstage
• onstage
• outrage
• pelage