Dictionary.com

Popular Searches

 Thesaurus.com
Synonyms

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.

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.
shipping British  
/ ˈʃɪpɪŋ /

noun

    1. the business of transporting freight, esp by ship

    2. ( as modifier )

      a shipping magnate

      shipping line

    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
"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

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

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

The development of the shipping container industry has simplified the logistics of exporting an entire vehicle.

From BBC

The United States also announced new sanctions against numerous shipping entities and vessels, aimed at curbing Iran's oil exports.

From Barron's

A sign hanging from a rusty ice-green shipping container installed by Thai forces on what they say is the border with Cambodia proclaims: "Cambodian citizens are strictly prohibited from entering this area."

From Barron's

These days, the transports index is home to companies in the real-world businesses of logistics, shipping and air travel.

From The Wall Street Journal

Last year, the port handled the equivalent of 8.9 million shipping containers, dwarfing the next biggest East Coast port at Savannah, Ga., which handled 5.7 million boxes.

From The Wall Street Journal

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.