shanghai
verb (used with object)
to enroll or obtain (a sailor) for the crew of a ship by unscrupulous means, as by force or the use of liquor or drugs.
shanghaied
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past participleof shanghai.past participle
A verb form used in perfect and passive verb constructions and that can also function as a modifier.
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past tense formof shanghai.past tense
Used to describe completed actions or previous habitual actions.
shanghaiverb (used with object)to enroll or obtain (a sailor) for the crew of a ship by unscrupulous means, as by force or the use of liquor or drugs.
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Once at the embassy she could be shanghaied back to Hong Kong or China.
From The Wall Street Journal β Dec. 22, 2025
Nalini, newly arrived aboard the shanghaied ship, serves as the outsider-observer.
From Los Angeles Times β Jun. 23, 2022
“He argues that he is not a free rider on a bus headed for a destination that he wishes to reach but is more like a person shanghaied for an unwanted voyage.”
From New York Times β Jun. 27, 2018
Premise Kelly Clarkson’s daughter falls asleep and somehow gets shanghaied into some sort of adventure with Santa Claus.
From The Guardian β Feb. 8, 2018
Me and Katherine still wear our finery from the night we were shanghaied, and these things I’m wearing are for looking pretty, not strolling through a frontier town.
From "Dread Nation" by Justina Ireland
