disembark
Americanverb (used without object)
-
to go ashore from a ship.
-
to leave an aircraft or other vehicle.
verb (used with object)
verb
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Conjugated Forms
Present
-
has disembarkedperfect 3rd person singular
-
have disembarkedperfect
-
is disembarkingprogressive 3rd person singular
-
am disembarkingprogressive 1st person singular
-
are disembarkingprogressive
-
has been disembarkingperfect progressive 3rd person singular
-
have been disembarkingperfect progressive
-
disembarkssingular 3rd person
-
disembarkingparticiple
Past
-
had disembarkedperfect
-
disembarkedparticiple
-
were disembarkingprogressive plural
-
disembarkedsimple
-
was disembarkingprogressive singular
-
had been disembarkingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of disembark
1575–85; < Middle French desembarquer, equivalent to des- dis- 1 + embarquer to embark
Explanation
Use the verb disembark to describe leaving a ship, airplane or other type of vehicle, like making sure you haven't left anything in the plane's overhead compartment before you disembark. Embark means "putting passengers in a plane or on a boat." Disembark is its opposite. When you disembark, you leave a ship or a plane, like when you can't wait to disembark at the port in order to go sight-seeing. When you disembark, there is a transition — you walk down a gangplank to go from water to land or down a special corridor to get from the runway to the airport terminal — unlike when you get out of a car. That's why you wouldn't use disembark for getting out of a car.
Vocabulary lists containing disembark
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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.
Thirty people, including the deceased passenger, disembark in St. Helena.
From The Wall Street Journal • May 7, 2026
They would not say whether passengers would be allowed to disembark.
From BBC • May 5, 2026
A cruise ship with a fatal hantavirus outbreak is set to head toward Spain’s Canary Islands, where health officials plan to inspect the vessel and the passengers before allowing anyone to disembark.
From MarketWatch • May 5, 2026
On Uniworld cruises to Provence, people disembark to a family-owned truffle farm.
From Salon • Mar. 14, 2026
Our plan was to disembark in Queenstown, make our way to the house of a relative, and then make arrangements for the necessary documents.
From "Long Walk to Freedom" by Nelson Mandela
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
