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Glite Dictionary
to carjack

to carjack

18 8.7
To steal a car by force while the owner is there
  • verb
  • /ˈkɑrˌdʒæk/
  • NSFW
translation icon : robar un coche
  • I got carjacked.
  • carjacked her car
  • carjacked vehicles
  • man carjacked

And Brandon Fraser, who's, you know, the Co star, he got carjacked while we were down there.

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Examples

  • I thought I was being carjacked.

    Bumblebee (2018)

  • Last night I watched two guys carjack a Camaro down on the corner of Argyle.

    Fiction book (1995)

  • I just hope somebody tries to carjack me.

    Fiction book (1997)

  • Yo, man, we're gonna get carjacked in a minute.

    The Brothers (2001)

  • Then, he is charged with carjacking a third woman on March 26.

    Blog text (12)

  • I was supposed to be sleeping in late today, not getting carjacked.

    Haywire (2011)

  • I'm always afraid I'll get carjacked, mugged, or that I'll come back to my car and find it broken into or gone.

    Blog text (30)

  • The 4-year-old boy went missing when his mother's vehicle... ... was carjacked in Gannon, New Jersey.

    Freedomland (2006)

  • According to the court documents, Torres tried to kidnap and then carjack a woman on March 19 and used a stun gun on her; he also carjacked another woman on that same day.

    Blog text (12)

  • Yesterday, he was carjacked at a gas station while filling up his tank.

Synonyms

to steal
vsto carjack
∞ 1.0

Take something that does not belong to you without permission

is specific to taking a vehicle by force with owner present
to hijack
vsto carjack
  • NSFW
125 5.7

To take control of a vehicle or meeting by force, often illegally

focuses on taking ownership of a vehicle, often happening with owner present

Antonyms

return
231 1.0

An act of giving something back to its owner

How Violent

to hijack
  • NSFW
125 5.7
to carjack
  • NSFW
18 8.7
to commandeer
34 8.5
to steal
∞ 1.0

Surface Forms

carjack infinitive
carjacked past
carjacked past participle
carjacking present participle
carjacks third person singular

Morphology

carjack = car + jack (semi-transparent) = car + jack

The components 'car' and 'jack' are recognizable, but the meaning 'steal a car by force' depends on the slang verb 'jack', which may be unfamiliar or misleading (e.g., mechanical jack) to learners.

Etymology

Carjack comes from joining car and jack. Here jack means 'take by force', like in hijack, so carjack means to forcefully steal someone's car.