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

Listen to this article A man was arrested Thursday and charged in connection with a carjacking in November in Norwalk where a masked individual stole a vehicle and drove off with someone still in the backseat. —Justin Muszynski, Hartford Courant, 7 Mar. 2025

Detroit police were accused of wrongfully arresting an eight-months pregnant Detroit woman in connection to a carjacking in February 2023. —David K. Li, NBC News, 28 Feb. 2025

The carjacking investigation isn’t his first run-in with federal agents. —Grethel Aguila, Miami Herald, 27 Feb. 2025

While there were still more homicides and carjackings last year than in 2019, the city had steep declines in violent crime. —Cuneyt Dil, Axios, 20 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