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

Vocabulary lists containing shipyard

"The Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass" (Excerpt 3)

Looking to grow your vocabulary? Check out this interactive, curated word list from our team of English language specialists at Vocabulary.com – one of over 17,000 lists we've built to help learners worldwide!

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.

German arms maker Rheinmetall said Thursday it had made an offer for a further shipyard as the influential defence giant deepens its push into naval systems.

From Barron's • May 7, 2026

Scotland's publicly-owned shipyard says it has been blocked from bidding to build the next large CalMac ferry.

From BBC • Apr. 23, 2026

When he walked into the Gatehouse Tavern by the shipyard just before 5 p.m. on a recent Monday, the place was empty.

From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 18, 2026

Titanic - along with her sister ships Olympic and Britannic - was designed at the drawing office of the Harland & Wolff shipyard in Belfast, which is now a hotel.

From BBC • Mar. 31, 2026

Baskets of food began to arrive from the shipyard.

From "Reaching for the Moon" by Katherine Johnson

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