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shipping

1 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 2 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 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

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

Origin of shipping1

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

That includes commercial ships, including a big order from the shipping subsidiary of Hanwha, as well as vessels for the U.S.

From The Wall Street Journal

With oil used for energy and transport, another downward pressure on prices could be the resumption of global shipping through the Red Sea.

From BBC

The vessel has been accused of breaking US sanctions and shipping Iranian oil.

From BBC

In 2018, China’s State Council announced plans for a “Polar Silk Road” — a shipping corridor across the top of the world.

From MarketWatch

There are also practical issues, such as shipping capacity and the immediate ability for U.S. refineries to process heavy Venezuelan crude.

From MarketWatch

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.