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

Investigators believe two unidentified men were in an unknown vehicle when shots were fired and struck Royster in what may have been a road rage incident. —Noelle Alviz-Gransee, Kansas City Star, 8 Jan. 2026

Police have named and released a photo of a suspect sought in the fatal shooting of a Bronx Uber driver during a road rage clash over a fender-bender, officials said Thursday. —Colin Mixson, New York Daily News, 8 Jan. 2026

In the first season, Yeun and Wong played two strangers whose lives collide in a strange way after they’re involved in a road rage incident. —Denise Petski, Deadline, 7 Jan. 2026

After working-class contractor Danny (Steven Yeun) nearly plows his vehicle into affluent business owner Amy’s (Ali Wong) SUV, their road rage incident soon escalates into a full-on feud. —Kevin Jacobsen, Entertainment Weekly, 2 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