ship

[ ship ]

/ ʃɪp /

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR ship ON THESAURUS.COM

noun

a vessel, especially a large oceangoing one propelled by sails or engines.

Nautical.

a sailing vessel square-rigged on all of three or more masts, having jibs, staysails, and a spanker on the aftermost mast.
Now Rare. a bark having more than three masts.Compare shipentine.

the crew and, sometimes, the passengers of a vessel: The captain gave the ship shore leave.

an airship, airplane, or spacecraft.

verb (used with object), shipped, ship·ping.

to put or take on board a ship or other means of transportation; to send or transport by ship, rail, truck, plane, etc.

Nautical. to take in (water) over the side, as a vessel does when waves break over it.

to bring (an object) into a ship or boat.

to engage (someone) for service on a ship.

to fix in a ship or boat in the proper place for use.

to place (an oar) in proper position for rowing.Compare boat(def 10).

to send away: They shipped the kids off to camp for the summer.

verb (used without object), shipped, ship·ping.

to go on board or travel by ship; embark.

to engage to serve on a ship.

Verb Phrases

ship out,

to leave, especially for another country or assignment: He said goodby to his family and shipped out for the West Indies.
to send away, especially to another country or assignment.
Informal. to quit, resign, or be fired from a job: Shape up or ship out!

Nearby words

shinny, shinplaster, shinto, shinty, shiny, ship, ship biscuit, ship canal, ship chandler, ship decanter, ship money

Idioms

jump ship,

to escape from a ship, especially one in foreign waters or a foreign port, as to avoid further service as a sailor or to request political asylum.
to withdraw support or membership from a group, organization, cause, etc.; defect or desert: Some of the more liberal members have jumped ship.

run a tight ship, to exercise a close, strict control over a ship's crew, a company, organization, or the like.

when one's ship comes in/home, when one's fortune is assured: She'll buy a car as soon as her ship comes in.

Origin of ship

before 900; (noun) Middle English; Old English scip; cognate with Dutch schip, German Schiff, Old Norse, Gothic skip; (v.) Middle English s(c)hip(p)en, derivative of the noun

Related forms

ship·less, adjectiveship·less·ly, adverbmis·ship, verb, mis·shipped, mis·ship·ping.pre·ship, verb (used with object), pre·shipped, pre·ship·ping.

Can be confused

barge boat canoe cruise ship sailboat ship yacht

Definition for ship (2 of 3)

ship

[ ship ]

/ ʃɪp /

Slang.

noun

a romantic relationship between fictional characters, especially one that people discuss, write about, or take an interest in, whether or not the romance actually exists in the original book, show, etc.: popular ships in fan fiction.

verb (used with or without object), shipped, ship·ping.

to discuss, write about, or take an interest in a romantic relationship between (fictional characters): I'm shipping for those guys—they would make a great couple!

Origin of ship

First recorded in 1995–2000; shortening of relationship

Definition for ship (3 of 3)

-ship

a native English suffix of nouns denoting condition, character, office, skill, etc.: clerkship; friendship; statesmanship.

Origin of -ship

Middle English, Old English -scipe; akin to shape; cognate with dialectal Frisian, dialectal Dutch schip

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for ship

There was one bathroom on the ship, and there were no showers or beds.
Inside the Smuggling Networks Flooding Europe with Refugees|Barbie Latza Nadeau|December 15, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Can you imagine flying to Venus in an Apollo-era ship based on the same technology, as some NASA people proposed?
To Infinity and Beyond! NASA’s Orion Mission Blasts Off|Matthew R. Francis|December 4, 2014|DAILY BEAST
The last body finally was recovered from the bowels of the ship in October.
The Costa Concordia’s Randy Reckless Captain Takes the Stand|Barbie Latza Nadeau|December 2, 2014|DAILY BEAST
He was the commander of the ship when it crashed and he admits his decision to take the ship off course.
The Costa Concordia’s Randy Reckless Captain Takes the Stand|Barbie Latza Nadeau|December 2, 2014|DAILY BEAST

Thirty-two people died when he ran his ship onto the rocks off Tuscany in 2012.
The Costa Concordia’s Randy Reckless Captain Takes the Stand|Barbie Latza Nadeau|December 2, 2014|DAILY BEAST
But the good-for-nothing Beggarmen who were on the ship cried out at this.
The Legend of the Glorious Adventures of Tyl Ulenspiegel in the land of Flanders and elsewhere|Charles de Coster
They went forth, and entered into a ship immediately; and that night they caught nothing.'
The Gospel of St. John|Frederick Denison Maurice
Surely we thought we were lost before, when he threw the great rock, and washed our ship back to the shore.
The Children's Hour, Volume 3 (of 10)|Various
You must remember that he is the captain of the ship, and that everything depends upon him.
Dikes and Ditches|Oliver Optic
Of course they had no boat, and the only way they could get back to the ship was to float on one piece of ice to another.
Grenfell: Knight-Errant of the North|Fullerton Waldo

British Dictionary definitions for ship (1 of 2)

ship

/ (ʃɪp) /

noun

a vessel propelled by engines or sails for navigating on the water, esp a large vessel that cannot be carried aboard another, as distinguished from a boat

nautical a large sailing vessel with three or more square-rigged masts

the crew of a ship

short for airship, spaceship

informal any vehicle or conveyance

when one's ship comes in when one has become successful or wealthy

verb ships, shipping or shipped

to place, transport, or travel on any conveyance, esp aboard a shipship the microscopes by aeroplane; can we ship tomorrow?

(tr) nautical to take (water) over the side

to bring or go aboard a vesselto ship oars

(tr often foll by off) informal to send away, often in order to be rid ofthey shipped the children off to boarding school

(intr) to engage to serve aboard a shipI shipped aboard a Liverpool liner

informal (tr) to concede (a goal)Celtic have shipped eight goals in three away matches

Derived Forms

shippable, adjective

Word Origin for ship

Old English scip; related to Old Norse skip, Old High German skif ship, scipfī cup

British Dictionary definitions for ship (2 of 2)

-ship

suffix forming nouns

indicating state or conditionfellowship

indicating rank, office, or positionlordship

indicating craft or skillhorsemanship; workmanship; scholarship

Word Origin for -ship

Old English -scipe; compare shape

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

Idioms and Phrases with ship

ship

In addition to the idioms beginning with ship

ship of state
ship out
ships that pass in the night

also see:

desert a sinking ship
enough to sink a ship
shape up (or ship out)
tight ship
when one's ship comes in