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

Brower told troopers he was involved in a road rage incident on I-395 South in Montville near Exit 5. —Staff Report, Hartford Courant, 28 Apr. 2025

Before his film turns its attention to the family alluded to by its title, director Hur Jin-ho revs out the gate with a case of road rage that ends in murder. —David Opie, IndieWire, 21 Apr. 2025

An investigation revealed the incident was a case of road rage that began when one driver sat a few seconds too long at an intersection after the light went from red to green. —Mark Price, Miami Herald, 9 Apr. 2025

Meanwhile, state prosecutors at the hearing depicted Higgins as having a history of road rage and of drinking up to six beers before the crash, per the AP. —Bailey Richards, People.com, 5 Feb. 2025

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