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. 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

---

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

Derived Forms

• nonshipping
  adjective

Etymology

Origin of shipping¹

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

Origin of shipping²

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

Example Sentences

Asked if Iran would get any economic relief just from opening up the Strait of Hormuz to shipping traffic in the first phase of a preliminary deal, Rubio said: “No, that’s not been discussed.”

From The Wall Street Journal • Jun. 6, 2026

He had worked at Ambiance for nearly five years, first stacking boxes of clothes and then later moving into shipping.

From Los Angeles Times • Jun. 6, 2026

When the vessel arrived in August, it needed repairs and its purported owners, Ahmed al-Masri and Semra al-Masri, were handling matters with the local shipping agent, an industry source said.

From Barron's • Jun. 5, 2026

They can band together to form corporations - which operate like private militaries or shipping companies.

From BBC • Jun. 5, 2026

Beyond it lay a city of shipping containers, all part of the Gravesend marine terminal.

From "City of the Plague God" by Sarwat Chadda

Related Words

• freight
• ship