Wordnet 3.0
VERB (1)
1.
start (a car engine) without a key by bypassing the ignition interlock;
- Example: "The woman who lost the car keys had to hot-wire her van"
The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48:
hot-wire \hot-wire\ v. t.
to start (a car) by using a wire instead of a key, as when
stealing the car; the wire is connected to points in the
ignition circuit that bypass the key.
[WordNet 1.5 +PJC]
WordNet (r) 3.0 (2006):
hot-wire
v 1: 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"