- 1hijack something to use violence or threats to take control of a vehicle, especially a plane, in order to force it to travel to a different place or to demand something from a government The plane was hijacked by two armed men on a flight from London to Rome. Wordfinderattackalert, assassinate, attack, campaign, execute, extremist, hijack, hostage, kidnap, terrorism CollocationsCrimeCommitting a crime commit a crime/a murder/a violent assault/a brutal killing/an armed robbery/fraud be involved in terrorism/a suspected arson attack/people smuggling/human trafficking engage/participate in criminal activity/illegal practices/acts of mindless vandalism steal somebody’s wallet/purse/(British English) mobile phone/(North American English) cell phone rob a bank/a person/a tourist break into/ (British English) burgle/ (North American English) burglarize a house/a home/an apartment hijack a plane/ship/bus smuggle drugs/weapons/arms/immigrants launder drug money (through something) forge documents/certificates/passports take/accept/pay somebody/offer (somebody) a bribe run a phishing/an email/an Internet scamFighting crime combat/fight crime/terrorism/corruption/drug trafficking prevent/stop credit-card fraud/child abuse/software piracy deter/stop criminals/burglars/thieves/shoplifters/vandals reduce/tackle/crack down on knife/gun/violent/street crime; (especially British English) antisocial behaviour foil a bank raid/a terrorist plot help/support/protect the victims of crimeInvestigating crime report a crime/a theft/a rape/an attack/(especially British English) an incident to the police witness the crime/attack/murder/incident investigate a murder/(especially North American English) a homicide/a burglary/a robbery/the alleged incident conduct/launch/pursue an investigation (into…); (especially British English) a police/murder inquiry investigate/reopen a criminal/murder case examine/investigate/find fingerprints at the crime scene/the scene of crime collect/gather forensic evidence uncover new evidence/a fraud/a scam/a plot/a conspiracy/political corruption/a cache of weapons describe/identify a suspect/the culprit/the perpetrator/the assailant/the attacker question/interrogate a suspect/witness solve/crack the case See related entries: Terrorism
- 2hijack something (disapproving) to use or take control of something, especially a meeting, in order to advertise your own aims and interests Demonstrators fear that the march could be hijacked by extremists. Word Origin1920s (originally US): of unknown origin.
hijack
verbBrE BrE//ˈhaɪdʒæk//; NAmE NAmE//ˈhaɪdʒæk//
Verb Forms present simple I / you / we / they hijack BrE BrE//ˈhaɪdʒæk//; NAmE NAmE//ˈhaɪdʒæk//
he / she / it hijacks BrE BrE//ˈhaɪdʒæks//; NAmE NAmE//ˈhaɪdʒæks//
past simple hijacked BrE BrE//ˈhaɪdʒækt//; NAmE NAmE//ˈhaɪdʒækt//
past participle hijacked BrE BrE//ˈhaɪdʒækt//; NAmE NAmE//ˈhaɪdʒækt//
-ing form hijacking BrE BrE//ˈhaɪdʒækɪŋ//; NAmE NAmE//ˈhaɪdʒækɪŋ//
TerrorismCheck pronunciation: hijack
