View synonyms for hijack

hijack

or high·jack

[ hahy-jak ]

Phonetic (Standard)IPA

verb (used with object)

to steal (cargo) from a truck or other vehicle after forcing it to stop:
to hijack a load of whiskey.
to rob (a vehicle) after forcing it to stop:
They hijacked the truck before it entered the city.
to seize (a vehicle) by force or threat of force.
to skyjack.

verb (used without object)

to engage in such stealing or seizing.

noun

an act or instance of hijacking.

hijack

/ ˈhaɪˌdʒæk /

verb

tr to seize, divert, or appropriate (a vehicle or the goods it carries) while in transit
to hijack an aircraft
to rob (a person or vehicle) by force
to hijack a traveller
(esp in the US during Prohibition) to rob (a bootlegger or smuggler) of his illicit goods or to steal (illicit goods) in transit

noun

the act or an instance of hijacking

Discover More

Derived Forms

ˈhiˌjacker, noun

Discover More

Other Words From

anti·hijack adjective

Discover More

Word History and Origins

Origin of hijack¹

An Americanism dating back to 1920–25; back formation from hijacker

Discover More

Word History and Origins

Origin of hijack¹

C20: of unknown origin

Discover More

Example Sentences

Back in the US embassy, Zambernardi listened to the wires and confirmed that the Soviets knew nothing about the hijack.

From MIT Technology Review

One network security engineer who asked not to be named as they were not authorized to speak to the media questioned whether DNSSEC would be effective at all against a top-level domain hijack.

From TechCrunch

Related Words

Word of the Day

April 19, 2024tortuous

[tawr-choo-uhs ]

Meaning and examples

Start each day with the Word of the Day in your inbox!

By clicking "Sign Up", you are accepting Dictionary.com Terms & Conditions and Privacy Policies.

hijab hijacker

Browse