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 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
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
The incident was initially thought to be linked to road rage. Marc Ramirez, USA Today, 9 Oct. 2025 The shooting was initially believed to have been motivated by road rage, but investigators determined the gunman had been in a relationship with the victim, police said. Tim Stelloh, NBC news, 9 Oct. 2025 The man killed Tuesday in a Douglas County road rage shooting had exited his car and was reaching into the suspect’s vehicle, allegedly punching him, when he was shot, according to court records. Lauren Penington, Denver Post, 25 Sep. 2025 Only 11% of drivers in the study admitted to violent road rage behaviors in the last year, such as bumping other cars on purpose or confronting other drivers. Andrea Margolis, FOXNews.com, 24 Sep. 2025 See All Example Sentences for road rage

Word History

First Known Use

1988, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of road rage was in 1988

Browse Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Road rage.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/road%20rage. Accessed 15 Oct. 2025.

More from Merriam-Webster on road rage

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!