Synonyms of hijacking

hijacking 1 of 2

noun

variants also highjacking

as in kidnapping

the unlawful or forcible carrying away of a person or animal

a country in which hijackings of foreign executives has become commonplace

Synonyms & Similar Words

• kidnapping
• abduction
• rape
• snatch
• seizure
• impressment
• shanghaiing

hijacking

2 of 2

verb

variants also highjacking

present participle of hijack

as in commandeering

to take control of (a vehicle) by force

some loser tried to hijack the plane with a toy gun

Synonyms & Similar Words

• commandeering
• seizing
• confiscating
• carjacking
• skyjacking
• appropriating
• expropriating

Example Sentences

Recent Examples of hijacking

Noun

The hijacking followed a resurgence of Somali piracy across the Gulf of Aden and western Indian Ocean. — ABC News, 3 Nov. 2026

Some insinuated he had been assassinated for comments regarding the then-recent hijacking of the Achille Lauro by Palestinian terrorists. — Los Angeles Times, 30 Oct. 2026

One particularly harrowing hijacking – and subsequent rescue by US Navy SEALs – inspired a Hollywood movie starring Tom Hanks. — David Goldman, CNN Money, 29 Oct. 2026

Delron Pickens, of Independence, was charged with one count of vehicle hijacking and one count of first-degree endangering the welfare of a child in Jackson County Circuit Court on Sunday. — Nathan Pilling, Kansas City Star, 19 Oct. 2026

The harrowing but ultimately hopeful story of the FlyDubai airline hijacking incident last month is being developed as a narrative film by Dori Media Group and India’s Sphereorigin. — Cynthia Littleton, Variety, 15 Oct. 2026

Police are asking the public for help identifying a man believed to be a suspect in a motorcycle hijacking. — Dan Raby, CBS News, 7 Oct. 2026

Yair Lapid, the Israeli opposition leader, said he had been briefed by Netanyahu on Tuesday night but that Netanyahu did not mention anything or even hint at a potential hijacking plot. — Gerry Shih, Washington Post, 1 Oct. 2026

The aircraft issued a general distress call before switching to a code signaling a hijacking. — Mohammed Sergie, semafor.com, 1 Oct. 2026

Verb

One network with the scale to hunt scammers gaming commissions and the plugins quietly hijacking commissions at checkout. — Stephen Messer, Fortune, 29 Oct. 2026

Even the risk of hijacking raw computing power on chips is not new. — Peter Hall, Scientific American, 15 Oct. 2026

These viruses, known as retroviruses, insert a DNA copy of their RNA sequence into the host cell’s genome, hijacking the cell’s resources to reproduce themselves. — Jake Buehler, Quanta Magazine, 21 Sep. 2026

Over the weekend, ShinyHunters boasted about hijacking and defacing CLOP’s site on the dark web with an image of a Pokémon. — Michael Kan, PC Magazine, 21 Sep. 2026

It's been 25 years since al-Qaida terrorists attacked the United States by hijacking four commercial airplanes and crashing them into the World Trade Center towers and the Pentagon. — September 9, NPR, 9 Sep. 2026

But since they’re still required by the rules to play all 27 outs, the Phillies just keep hijacking these Weird and Wild columns. — Jayson Stark, New York Times, 4 Sep. 2026

Which in a very real sense signals long-time Fed efforts to expand its own purpose by hijacking inflation. — John Tamny, Forbes.com, 30 Aug. 2026

The longtime Adult Swim mischief-maker behind the viral hits ‘Too Many Cooks’ and ‘Yule Log’ specializes in hijacking familiar media formats, revealing the sinister anxieties beneath them. — Carlos Aguilar, Los Angeles Times, 28 Aug. 2026