hijacker
C1Formal / News
Definition
Meaning
A person who unlawfully seizes control of a vehicle, especially an aircraft, during its journey, typically to force a change of destination or to make political demands.
A person who wrongfully takes control of something, such as a meeting, conversation, or process, redirecting it for their own purposes. In computing, it refers to malware or a person who redirects internet traffic or seizes control of software.
Linguistics
Semantic Notes
Primarily associated with serious crime and terrorism, especially post-9/11. The sense of 'taking over something' has broadened metaphorically to digital contexts (e.g., 'browser hijacker').
Dialectal Variation
British vs American Usage
Differences
No major lexical differences. Spelling of related verb: BrE 'hijack', AmE also 'hijack' (both standard).
Connotations
Identically strong negative connotations of criminality and terrorism in both dialects.
Frequency
Slightly higher frequency in AmE due to historical media coverage of incidents.
Vocabulary
Collocations
Grammar
Valency Patterns
[hijacker] of [vehicle/process][adjective] hijackerVocabulary
Synonyms
Strong
Neutral
Weak
Vocabulary
Antonyms
Phrases
Idioms & Phrases
- “[no common idioms specific to 'hijacker']”
Usage
Context Usage
Business
Metaphorical: 'He was a meeting hijacker, constantly derailing the agenda.'
Academic
Used in political science, criminology, and terrorism studies.
Everyday
Mostly used in news contexts; metaphorical use in informal talk ('don't hijack the conversation').
Technical
Computing security: 'A DNS hijacker redirects users to malicious sites.'
Examples
By Part of Speech
verb
British English
- The activists threatened to hijack the lorry carrying the shipment.
- He tried to hijack the interview to promote his own views.
American English
- Terrorists attempted to hijack the airliner.
- Malware can hijack your browser's homepage.
adverb
British English
- [Standard form 'hijack' is not used as an adverb.]
American English
- [Standard form 'hijack' is not used as an adverb.]
adjective
British English
- The hijacker mentality was evident in his aggressive takeover of the project.
American English
- They developed anti-hijacker protocols for the airline crew.
Examples
By CEFR Level
- The police caught the hijacker.
- A hijacker is a bad person.
- The hijacker forced the pilot to fly to another country.
- News reported an aircraft hijacker was arrested.
- The armed hijacker issued a series of political demands before surrendering.
- Browser hijacker software is a common nuisance for internet users.
- The lone hijacker's motives remained obscure despite a lengthy investigation by authorities.
- Critics accused the senior partner of being a dialogue hijacker, consistently steering negotiations toward his pre-determined outcomes.
Learning
Memory Aids
Mnemonic
Think: 'HIGH in the JACKet' - someone up high in a JACKed (stolen) plane.
Conceptual Metaphor
CONTROL IS PHYSICAL POSSESSION / A JOURNEY IS A VEHICLE (hijacking derails it).
Watch out
Common Pitfalls
Translation Traps (for Russian speakers)
- Not to be confused with 'угонщик' (car thief without violence). 'Hijacker' implies violence/threats during the act. For digital contexts, 'вредоносная программа-перехватчик' captures the computing sense.
Common Mistakes
- Confusing 'hijacker' (person) with 'hijacking' (event).
- Using it for petty theft without the element of seizing control during operation.
Practice
Quiz
In a computing context, a 'hijacker' most commonly refers to:
FAQ
Frequently Asked Questions
A 'hijacker' typically seizes control of a vehicle already in motion (like a plane or car). A 'pirate' usually attacks ships at sea to rob them or commits copyright infringement.
Almost never. The act of hijacking is inherently criminal or wrongful, so the term carries a strong negative connotation.
It can be, but it is most strongly associated with aircraft. For ships, 'pirate' is more common. For trains, 'hijacker' or 'train robber' might be used.
The verb is 'to hijack'. The '-er' suffix denotes the person who performs the action of hijacking.