shipping

¹ American  

[ship-ing] / ˈʃɪp ɪŋ /

noun

1. the act or business of a person or thing that ships.

2. a number of ships, especially merchant ships, taken as a whole; tonnage.

3. Obsolete. a voyage.

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shipping ² American  

[ship-ing] / ˈʃɪp ɪŋ /

noun

Slang.

1. the act or practice of discussing, writing about, or hoping for a romantic relationship between fictional characters, as in fan fiction, or between famous people, whether or not the romance actually exists in the book, show, etc., or in real life.

   the shipping of TV characters;

   shipping in webcomics.

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shipping British  

/ ˈʃɪpɪŋ /

noun

1. 1. the business of transporting freight, esp by ship

   2. ( as modifier )

      a shipping magnate

      shipping line

2. 1. ships collectively

      there is a lot of shipping in the Channel

   2. the tonnage of a number of ships

      shipping for this year exceeded that of last

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Usage

What else does shipping mean? Shipping is the act of wanting two or more fictional characters or celebrities to end up in a relationship, usually romantic.

Other Word Forms

• nonshipping adjective

Etymology

Origin of shipping¹

Middle English word dating back to 1250–1300; ship ¹, -ing ¹

Origin of shipping¹

First recorded in 1990–95; (relation)ship + -ing ¹

Example Sentences

Amazon said each selling partner is free to set their own prices, shipping fees and return policies.

From The Wall Street Journal

Beijing requires companies in China to get government approval before shipping the minerals abroad.

From BBC

As an export-driven economy, Germany values stability in the Middle East, in part to safeguard key shipping lanes.

From Barron's

If it’s been frozen before shipping, then the poi clumps together and resembles paste.

From Literature

Although Starlink isn’t activated in Russia, a black market for user terminals sprung up with middlemen shipping them to Russian forces.

From The Wall Street Journal

Related Words

• freight
• ship