disembark

American

[dis-em-bahrk] / ˌdɪs ɛmˈbɑrk /

verb (used without object)

to go ashore from a ship.
to leave an aircraft or other vehicle.

verb (used with object)

to remove or unload (cargo or passengers) from a ship, aircraft, or other vehicle.

disembark British

/ ˌdɪsɪmˈbɑːk, dɪsˌɛmbɑːˈkeɪʃən /

verb

to land or cause to land from a ship, aircraft, etc

several passengers disembarked
we will disembark the passengers

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Other Word Forms

disembarkation noun
disembarkment noun

Etymology

Origin of disembark

1575–85; < Middle French desembarquer, equivalent to des- dis- ¹ + embarquer to embark

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.

On Uniworld cruises to Provence, people disembark to a family-owned truffle farm.

From Salon • Mar. 14, 2026

The third room is the dry land that kids step onto when they disembark from the ark.

From Los Angeles Times • Jan. 14, 2026

Eventually, the group was allowed to disembark after intervention from a local charity.

From BBC • Nov. 17, 2025

NAGOYA, Japan—The tourists who crowd the bullet trains from Tokyo tend not to disembark at Nagoya as they speed along the so-called Golden Route linking the Japanese capital with Kyoto and Osaka.

From The Wall Street Journal • Nov. 4, 2025

“If we disembark here, we will not go to America. We will not go.”

From "Between Shades of Gray" by Ruta Sepetys

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023