carjacking
noun
car·jack·ing
ˈkär-ˌja-kiŋ 
: the theft of an automobile from its driver by force or intimidation
In the cities and suburbs, where muggings and carjackings are a daily concern, voters are wondering how many of the nation's 200 million guns are pointed at them.—
Richard Lacayo
Richard Lacayo… Congress made a show of getting tough on crime by making armed carjackings a federal crime.—Janet Novack
Janet Novack
carjack
transitive verb
carjacked; carjacking; carjacks
Several weeks after the shooting, a woman my age was carjacked there.
—Susan Straight
Susan Straight
carjacker
noun
plural carjackers
If you're confronted by a carjacker, be cooperative. The big picture: It's your car versus your life.
—Amy Lumet
Amy Lumet
Examples of carjacking in a Sentence
The police are investigating another carjacking.
Recent Examples on the Web
The journey to that end, police say, began at Southwest 17th Avenue and Fifth Street around 1:52 a.m. with the carjacking.
—David J. Neal, Miami Herald, 28 July 2025
The man’s friend and his friend’s mother witnessed the carjacking.
—Nick Ferraro, Twin Cities, 23 June 2025
Buy digital billboards and metro ad space that list the outrageous fee increases, the number of carjackings, the number of Marylanders attacked, raped or killed by undocumented immigrants, the number of criminal juveniles released to commit additional crimes.
—Michelle Jefferson, Baltimore Sun, 4 June 2025
The Sacramento County Sheriff’s Office said a woman walked into a store in the 4000 block of Sunrise Boulevard just before 10 p.m., telling the clerk of the carjacking.
—Darrell Smith, Sacbee.com, 29 May 2025
See All Example Sentences for carjacking
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David J. Neal, Miami Herald, 28 July 2025
The man’s friend and his friend’s mother witnessed the carjacking.
—Nick Ferraro, Twin Cities, 23 June 2025
Buy digital billboards and metro ad space that list the outrageous fee increases, the number of carjackings, the number of Marylanders attacked, raped or killed by undocumented immigrants, the number of criminal juveniles released to commit additional crimes.
—Michelle Jefferson, Baltimore Sun, 4 June 2025
The Sacramento County Sheriff’s Office said a woman walked into a store in the 4000 block of Sunrise Boulevard just before 10 p.m., telling the clerk of the carjacking.
—Darrell Smith, Sacbee.com, 29 May 2025
See All Example Sentences for carjacking
Cite this Entry
“Carjacking.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/carjacking. Accessed 4 Aug. 2025.
Copy CitationLegal Definition
carjacking
noun
car·jack·ing
ˈkär-ˌja-kiŋ
: theft by force or intimidation of an auto that has a driver or passenger present
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