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.
the crew and, sometimes, the passengers of a vessel.
The captain gave shore leave to the whole ship.
an airship, airplane, or spacecraft.
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.
to send away.
They shipped the kids off to camp for the summer.
to go on board or travel by ship; embark.
to engage to serve on a ship.
to be sent or transported by ship, rail, truck, plane, etc..
Both packages shipped this morning.
to permit of being transported by any of these means.
Fresh raspberries do not ship well.
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.
when one's ship comes in / home, when one's fortune is assured.
She'll buy a house when her ship comes in.
run a tight ship, to exercise a close, strict control over a ship's crew, a company, an organization, or the like.
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
informal any vehicle or conveyance
when one has become successful or wealthy
to place, transport, or travel on any conveyance, esp aboard a ship
ship the microscopes by aeroplane
can we ship tomorrow?
(tr) nautical to take (water) over the side
to bring or go aboard a vessel
to ship oars
informal to send away, often in order to be rid of
they shipped the children off to boarding school
(intr) to engage to serve aboard a ship
I shipped aboard a Liverpool liner
informal (tr) to concede (a goal)
Celtic have shipped eight goals in three away matches
indicating state or condition
fellowship
indicating rank, office, or position
lordship
indicating craft or skill
horsemanship
workmanship
scholarship
What does -ship mean? The suffix -ship is used to form nouns to indicate a "state of being" or "skill." It is often used in everyday and technical terms. The suffix -ship comes from Old English -scipe, meaning “shape.” Yes, shape. Discover why at our entry for shape. The Latin-derived equivalent of -scipe is -form, from Latin -fōrmis, meaning “having the shape of.” This suffix appears in words such as fungiform and oviform. To learn more, check out our Words That Use article on -form.
First recorded before 900; Middle English, Old English noun scip, scipp; cognate with Dutch schip, German Schiff, Old Norse, Gothic skip; verb derivative of the noun
First recorded in 1995–2000; shortening of relationship
Middle English, Old English -scipe; akin to shape; cognate with dialectal Frisian, dialectal Dutch schip
A ship is a large sea-going vessel, and it's also a way to transport goods. You can ship things on a ship — but, confusingly, you can also ship them on a truck or a train. A ship is like a boat, only larger — some definitions of a sailing ship say it has at least three masts. A cruise ship transports a large number of people in what is basically a floating hotel. A cargo ship, on the other hand, transports goods being imported and exported between countries. One guess about the origin of ship links it to a Germanic word meaning "hollowed-out tree."
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
“The quarter prior revealed some success in righting the ship in the U.S., but significantly worse performance in China, which is becoming a much smaller part of the business,” she added.
From MarketWatch • Jul. 1, 2026
Some online giants are considering building warehouses in Europe to import goods in bulk and ship them more easily across Europe.
From Barron's • Jun. 30, 2026
"The ship is currently in Budapest, where engineers and specialist teams are working to fix this as quickly as possible."
From BBC • Jun. 30, 2026
Bravo remains a life boat on the sinking ship that is the cable network business and is a key content provider to Peacock.
From The Wall Street Journal • Jun. 30, 2026
But Mal was not looking at the ship or the Berserker.
From "Impossible Creatures" by Katherine Rundell
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.
