Hot-wire (Verb)
Meaning
Start (a car engine) without a key by bypassing the ignition interlock; "The woman who lost the car keys had to hot-wire her van".
Classification
Verbs of walking, flying, swimming.
Examples
- The car was stolen and the thief likely hot-wired the engine to make a quick getaway.
- After locking my keys in the car, I had to hot-wire the vehicle to get back on the road.
- She didn't have a key but somehow managed to hot-wire the old motorcycle and ride it home.
- The woman who lost the car keys had to hot-wire her van to drive herself to work.
- When his engine wouldn't turn over, he was forced to hot-wire it just to get to the nearest mechanic.