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.

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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.

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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

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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; see origin at ship ¹, -ing ¹

Origin of shipping²

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

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

shipping

The region normally accounts for nearly 25% of global polyethylene and polypropylene exports, making prolonged shipping disruptions a significant risk to Asian manufacturers and consumers.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 29, 2026

Tehran said earlier this week that it had held talks with Oman, which also borders the strait, on "common principles and operational mechanisms" to ensure the safe passage of shipping.

From Barron's ● Jul. 29, 2026

Meanwhile, shipping through the Strait of Hormuz—one of the world’s busiest oil chokepoints—remains severely constrained.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 29, 2026

Meanwhile, oil futures prices fell further on Tuesday as investors hoped for deals that could prompt a return of Strait of Hormuz shipping.

From MarketWatch ● Jul. 29, 2026

“There’s less and less sea ice every year. Maybe if it gets hot enough, the Northwest Passage will open up and suddenly Canada will be shipping lots of stuff to Russia and Japan.”

From "Two Degrees" by Alan Gratz

Related Words

• freight
• ship