shipping

¹

[ship-ing]

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

[ship-ing]

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

/ 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

Other Word Forms

• nonshipping adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of shipping¹

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

Origin of shipping²

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

Example Sentences

Another Greek shipping magnate, Aristotle Onassis, once said that his yacht, the 325-foot Christina O—which hosted luminaries including Winston Churchill and John F. Kennedy—was “the best office in the world.”

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Launched in 2005, it offers free and fast shipping, access to Amazon’s streaming service and other perks.

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Drug companies are in need of more specialized storage and shipping services from companies such as Cardinal, as they increasingly sell complex drugs like cell and gene therapies.

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Authorities have said one plot involved putting incendiary devices on the planes of shipping giant DHL.

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Huge shipping fortunes emerged, creating demand for banks and insurers.

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Related Words

• freight 
• ship 

When To Use

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.