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

Jeremiah Ross, 21, and Davontate Ashley, 20, allegedly used a handgun to steal property from a marketplace transaction and attempted a carjacking of a second victim, police said. — Shambhavi Rimal, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 27 Aug. 2026

Police are searching for the suspect behind a carjacking that happened Wednesday outside a Taco Bell in Glen Burnie, Maryland. — Renee Anderson, CBS News, 27 Aug. 2026

Police have linked juveniles to about 60% of carjackings in the district as of 2025, NBC4 Washington reported. — Hudson Crozier, The Washington Examiner, 26 Aug. 2026

Darrell Mitchell, 43, was seen walking into a Santa Rita Jail cell on April 6 with two men, one suspected of murder, the other facing carjacking and robbery charges. — Nate Gartrell, Mercury News, 25 Aug. 2026

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