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
Relevance
variants
also highjacking
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
Example Sentences
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
show current usage.
Read More
Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors.
Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of hijacking
Joan Murray, CBS News, 2 Feb. 2026
The plot loosely draws from and includes actual footage from real-life events including the 1999 IC-814 hijacking, the 2001 Parliament attack, and the 2008 Mumbai attacks.
—Hannah Abraham, Forbes.com, 27 Jan. 2026
For Elba, 53, seeing Sam navigate a hijacking from a different angle, while also challenging the audience to figure why his character is taking such drastic measures, helped convince him that a second season of Apple TV's thriller series was a good idea.
—Sabienna Bowman, PEOPLE, 14 Jan. 2026
Speaking to Deadline in London late last year, the star and executive producer of the Apple TV thriller series talked through the mind state of Nelson, a talented business negotiator and ordinary working man who becomes an unlikely hero after a plane hijacking in Season 1.
—Jesse Whittock, Deadline, 6 Jan. 2026
This allowed credential theft, session hijacking and code injection on any website.
—Kurt Knutsson, FOXNews.com, 11 Dec. 2025
Similarly, the presence of dead Colombians at the site of the railroad hijacking suggested that Cortez’s cartel bosses might be hanging him and his soldiers out to dry.
—Noel Murray, Vulture, 7 Dec. 2025
The following list of darkly gripping movies include undercover police operations, addictive assassin dramas, and perilous hijacking odysseys based on true stories.
—Griff Griffin, MSNBC Newsweek, 6 Dec. 2025
Genetic differences in immune regulation may also play a role in how easy a job the virus has in hijacking and recruiting cells.
—New Atlas, 21 Nov. 2025
Maureen Dowd, Mercury News, 21 Jan. 2026
Brooklyn Beckham also accused his mom of hijacking his first dance with Peltz at the wedding reception.
—Rebecca Cohen, NBC news, 20 Jan. 2026
There will never again be one rogue program hijacking the sport with attitude and intimidation.
—Mike Bianchi, The Orlando Sentinel, 6 Jan. 2026
This helps prevent criminals from hijacking phone numbers or spoofing calls and texts.
—Kurt Knutsson, FOXNews.com, 21 Dec. 2025
Theories about what happened range from hijacking to cabin depressurization or power failure.
—CBS News, 3 Dec. 2025
Scientists have found the clearest evidence yet that Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) – which nearly all of us carry for life – is directly responsible for hijacking our immune system's cells to cause lupus, a chronic disease that affects up to a million Americans.
—New Atlas, 21 Nov. 2025
The episode features Lois (Alex Borstein), a worker at Big Pie, who travels to a small town with the goal of hijacking Peter’s (Seth MacFarlane) secret, beloved pie recipe.
—Jessica Nicholson, Billboard, 18 Nov. 2025
Furthermore, viruses exploit these interactions by hijacking host proteins to replicate during infection.
—Mrigakshi Dixit, Interesting Engineering, 27 Oct. 2025
Noun
The hijacking sparked a dramatic police chase that ended in a rush-hour shootout when the truck became stuck in traffic on the busy parkway.
—Joan Murray, CBS News, 2 Feb. 2026
The plot loosely draws from and includes actual footage from real-life events including the 1999 IC-814 hijacking, the 2001 Parliament attack, and the 2008 Mumbai attacks.
—Hannah Abraham, Forbes.com, 27 Jan. 2026
For Elba, 53, seeing Sam navigate a hijacking from a different angle, while also challenging the audience to figure why his character is taking such drastic measures, helped convince him that a second season of Apple TV's thriller series was a good idea.
—Sabienna Bowman, PEOPLE, 14 Jan. 2026
Speaking to Deadline in London late last year, the star and executive producer of the Apple TV thriller series talked through the mind state of Nelson, a talented business negotiator and ordinary working man who becomes an unlikely hero after a plane hijacking in Season 1.
—Jesse Whittock, Deadline, 6 Jan. 2026
This allowed credential theft, session hijacking and code injection on any website.
—Kurt Knutsson, FOXNews.com, 11 Dec. 2025
Similarly, the presence of dead Colombians at the site of the railroad hijacking suggested that Cortez’s cartel bosses might be hanging him and his soldiers out to dry.
—Noel Murray, Vulture, 7 Dec. 2025
The following list of darkly gripping movies include undercover police operations, addictive assassin dramas, and perilous hijacking odysseys based on true stories.
—Griff Griffin, MSNBC Newsweek, 6 Dec. 2025
Genetic differences in immune regulation may also play a role in how easy a job the virus has in hijacking and recruiting cells.
—New Atlas, 21 Nov. 2025
Verb
Trump’s entire doctrine is naked rapacity, from Venezuela to hijacking the Kennedy Center to hideously remaking the White House in his own gaudy image.
—Maureen Dowd, Mercury News, 21 Jan. 2026
Brooklyn Beckham also accused his mom of hijacking his first dance with Peltz at the wedding reception.
—Rebecca Cohen, NBC news, 20 Jan. 2026
There will never again be one rogue program hijacking the sport with attitude and intimidation.
—Mike Bianchi, The Orlando Sentinel, 6 Jan. 2026
This helps prevent criminals from hijacking phone numbers or spoofing calls and texts.
—Kurt Knutsson, FOXNews.com, 21 Dec. 2025
Theories about what happened range from hijacking to cabin depressurization or power failure.
—CBS News, 3 Dec. 2025
Scientists have found the clearest evidence yet that Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) – which nearly all of us carry for life – is directly responsible for hijacking our immune system's cells to cause lupus, a chronic disease that affects up to a million Americans.
—New Atlas, 21 Nov. 2025
The episode features Lois (Alex Borstein), a worker at Big Pie, who travels to a small town with the goal of hijacking Peter’s (Seth MacFarlane) secret, beloved pie recipe.
—Jessica Nicholson, Billboard, 18 Nov. 2025
Furthermore, viruses exploit these interactions by hijacking host proteins to replicate during infection.
—Mrigakshi Dixit, Interesting Engineering, 27 Oct. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for hijacking
Noun
-
And one of those things is what the suspect in the kidnapping looks like.—
Lizzie Lanuza,
StyleCaster,
13 Feb. 2026
-
More than a week after Savannah Guthrie's mother, Nancy Guthrie, went missing from her Arizona home in a possible kidnapping, law enforcement brought a man in for questioning before releasing him.—
KiMi Robinson,
USA Today,
12 Feb. 2026
Verb
-
This is precisely the type of coercion and commandeering that violates the 10th Amendment.—
Laura Romero,
ABC News,
26 Jan. 2026
-
The crux of the coalition’s argument is that the immigration operation in Minnesota constitutes a violation of the Tenth Amendment, which protects the sovereignty of states and bars the federal government from commandeering state and local resources for federal purposes.—
Gayla Cawley,
Boston Herald,
23 Jan. 2026
Noun
-
In the days following her abduction, the NBC anchor and her siblings have issued various emotional pleas for her return, offering to pay after unverified ransom notes were sent to several media organizations.—
Edward Segarra,
USA Today,
11 Feb. 2026
-
Rocha also referred to the abduction of a group of Mexican tourists from Mazatlan last week.—
CBS News,
CBS News,
10 Feb. 2026
Verb
-
China is seizing an opportunity to challenge American dominance in global finance and exert greater international influence at the expense of the all-powerful US dollar.—
Stephanie Yang,
CNN Money,
4 Feb. 2026
-
Allegations include entering homes without warrants, stopping, intimidating and seizing legal observers, and detaining suspects by virtue of their appearance or accent.—
Yohuru Williams,
The Conversation,
4 Feb. 2026
Noun
-
On his phone, customs agents discovered messages encouraging extreme violence, rape, Nazism and self-harm.—
Curt Devine,
CNN Money,
10 Feb. 2026
-
Yet, the show also didn't shy away from tough, sometimes controversial subject matter, including rape, addiction, and child loss.—
Amy Wilkinson,
Entertainment Weekly,
10 Feb. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Hijacking.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/hijacking. Accessed 15 Feb. 2026.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
