shipyard

American

[ship-yahrd] / ˈʃɪpˌyɑrd /

noun

a yard or enclosure in which ships are built or repaired.

shipyard British

/ ˈʃɪpˌjɑːd /

noun

a place or facility for the building, maintenance, and repair of ships

"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

Etymology

Origin of shipyard

First recorded in 1690–1700; ship ¹ + yard ²

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.

How can a welding career in a shipyard benefit our nation?

From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 31, 2026

Krauze joined what was then called the Vladimir Lenin shipyard in 1983, first in a coal-fired boiler room and later operating a crane.

From Barron's • Mar. 7, 2026

Ferguson's, the last shipyard on the lower Clyde, has been building vessels since 1903, including about half of CalMac's current large vessel fleet.

From BBC • Mar. 3, 2026

The U.S. operates two hospital ships: one is currently docked at an Alabama shipyard while the other is on its way to Panama, which is pretty much in the opposite direction from Greenland.

From Salon • Feb. 28, 2026

It was the biggest thing to happen to the area since Collis Huntington set up his shipyard in Newport News.

From "Hidden Figures" by Margot Lee Shetterly

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023