highjacking

/ˈhaɪˌdʒækɪŋ/
noun
  1. The act of illegally taking control of a vehicle (such as an airplane, ship, or truck) by force, often to steal goods or make demands.
    • The crew managed to escape during the highjacking of the ship.
    • The highjacking of the cargo truck was caught on a security camera.
    • Airport security has improved greatly since the highjacking of several planes in the 1970s.
  2. The act of taking control of something (such as a meeting, event, or process) in a forceful or dishonest way to change its purpose.
    • Critics accused the company of a highjacking of the community project for its own profit.
    • The highjacking of the online discussion by trolls made it impossible to have a real conversation.
    • The highjacking of the town hall meeting by a small group upset many residents.
verb
  1. To illegally take control of a vehicle (such as an airplane, ship, or truck) by force, often to steal goods or make demands.
    • No one was hurt when the criminals tried to highjack the passenger plane.
    • The thieves planned to highjack the delivery truck and steal the electronics inside.
    • The pirates attempted to highjack the fishing boat near the coast.
  2. To take control of something (such as a meeting, event, or process) in a forceful or dishonest way to change its purpose.
    • Don't let your emotions highjack the conversation; stay calm and listen.
    • A few loud members tried to highjack the committee meeting to push their own agenda.
    • The hackers managed to highjack the website and post false information.
What does "highjacking" mean? | whatsthatwordmean | whatsthatwordmean