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

Evidence found at the scene of the bridge shooting also allowed Dallas police to arrest 25-year-old Anderson Derce Lara for a road rage incident that occurred in November, Griffith said. —Timia Cobb breaking News Reporter, Dallas Morning News, 29 Jan. 2026

Through their later investigation, police determined that the collision was not the result of a speeding offense, but rather the result of a road rage incident that began at a separate location, according to their release. —Gillian Stawiszynski, Cincinnati Enquirer, 29 Jan. 2026

The fatal shooting happened on March 9, 2025, and spun out of an apparent road rage incident. —Paula Wethington, CBS News, 29 Jan. 2026

From road rage to the slow highway crawl, traffic can lead to anxiety and frustration for any driver. —Michael Cappetta, Travel + Leisure, 21 Jan. 2026

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