English
wikipedia
Pronunciation
audio|en-us-hijack.ogg|Audio (US)
Alternative spellings
hi-jack
highjack
Etymology
There are two folk etymology|folk etymologies:
That it arose from someone wanting a lift on a truck calling "Hi, Jack" (the exclamation plus the name), until this was used often as a trick by robbers.
That it comes from seamen who were robbed by prostitutes in former centuries in London. Prostitutes would call out "Hi, Jack" to passing sailors. Instead of receiving the services they expected, some sailors were instead robbed by an accomplice.
Verb
en-verb
- To forcibly stop and seize control of some vehicle in order to rob it or to reach a destination.
- computing To seize control of a networked computer by means of infecting it with a worm or other malware, thereby turning it into a zombie.
- computing To change software settings without a user's knowledge so as to force that user to visit a certain web site (to hijack a browser).
Translations
trans-top|seize control of a vehicle
Arabic: �ختط�
Dutch: kapen, hijacken
Finnish: kaapata
French: détourner
German: hijacken
Italian: dirottare
Portuguese: sequestrar
trans-bottom
to be checked
ttbc|Spanish: piratear
Noun
en-noun
- An instance of hijacking; the illegal seizure of a vehicle.
Translations
instance of hijacking
Finnish: kaappaus
Category:English transitive verbs
fr:hijack
it:hijack
fi:hijack
vi:hijack
zh:hijack
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