ship

¹

[ ship ]

noun

1. a vessel, especially a large oceangoing one propelled by sails or engines.
2. Nautical.
   1. a sailing vessel square-rigged on all of three or more masts, having jibs, staysails, and a spanker on the aftermost mast.
   2. Now Rare. a bark having more than three masts. Compare shipentine.
3. the crew and, sometimes, the passengers of a vessel:

   The captain gave shore leave to the whole ship.

4. an airship, airplane, or spacecraft.

verb (used with object)

, shipped, ship·ping.

1. to put or take on board a ship or other means of transportation; to send or transport by ship, rail, truck, plane, etc.
2. Nautical. to take in (water) over the side, as a vessel does when waves break over it.
3. to bring (an object) into a ship or boat.
4. to engage (someone) for service on a ship.
5. to fix in a ship or boat in the proper place for use.
6. to place (an oar) in proper position for rowing. Compare boat ( def 10 ).
7. to send away:

   They shipped the kids off to camp for the summer.

verb (used without object)

, shipped, ship·ping.

1. to go on board or travel by ship; embark.
2. to engage to serve on a ship.
3. 1. to be sent or transported by ship, rail, truck, plane, etc.:

      Both packages shipped this morning.

   2. to permit of being transported by any of these means:

      Fresh raspberries do not ship well.

verb phrase

1. 1. to leave, especially for another country or assignment:

      He said goodbye to his family and shipped out for the West Indies.

   2. to send away, especially to another country or assignment.
   3. Informal. to quit, resign, or be fired from a job:

      Shape up or ship out!

ship

²

[ ship ]

noun

1. 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 TV show's most popular ships.

verb (used with or without object)

, shipped, ship·ping.

1. to take an interest in or hope for a romantic relationship between (fictional characters or famous people), whether or not the romance actually exists:

   I'm shipping those guys—they would make a great couple!

-ship

³

1. a native English suffix of nouns denoting condition, character, office, skill, etc.:

   clerkship; friendship; statesmanship.

-ship

¹

suffix forming nouns

1. indicating state or condition

   fellowship

2. indicating rank, office, or position

   lordship

3. indicating craft or skill

   horsemanship

   workmanship

   scholarship

ship

²

/ ʃɪp /

noun

1. a vessel propelled by engines or sails for navigating on the water, esp a large vessel that cannot be carried aboard another, as distinguished from a boat
2. nautical a large sailing vessel with three or more square-rigged masts
3. the crew of a ship
4. short for airship spaceship
5. informal.
   any vehicle or conveyance
6. when one's ship comes in
   when one has become successful or wealthy

verb

1. to place, transport, or travel on any conveyance, esp aboard a ship

   ship the microscopes by aeroplane

   can we ship tomorrow?

2. tr nautical to take (water) over the side
3. to bring or go aboard a vessel

   to ship oars

4. informal.
   troften foll byoff to send away, often in order to be rid of

   they shipped the children off to boarding school

5. intr to engage to serve aboard a ship

   I shipped aboard a Liverpool liner

6. informal.
   tr to concede (a goal)

   Celtic have shipped eight goals in three away matches

Derived Forms

• ˈshippable, adjective

Other Words From

• ship·less adjective
• ship·less·ly adverb
• mis·ship verb misshipped misshipping
• pre·ship verb (used with object) preshipped preshipping

Word History and Origins

Origin of ship¹

First recorded before 900; Middle English, Old English noun scip, scipp; cognate with Dutch schip, German Schiff, Old Norse, Gothic skip; verb derivative of the noun

Origin of ship²

First recorded in 1995–2000; shortening of relationship none

Origin of ship³

Middle English, Old English -scipe; akin to shape; cognate with dialectal Frisian, dialectal Dutch schip

Word History and Origins

Origin of ship¹

Old English -scipe; compare shape

Origin of ship²

Old English scip; related to Old Norse skip, Old High German skif ship, scipfī cup

Idioms and Phrases

Idioms

1. jump ship,
   1. to escape from a ship, especially one in foreign waters or a foreign port, as to avoid further service as a sailor or to request political asylum.
   2. to withdraw support or membership from a group, organization, cause, etc.; defect or desert:

      Some of the more liberal members have jumped ship.

2. run a tight ship, to exercise a close, strict control over a ship's crew, a company, an organization, or the like.
3. when one's ship comes in / home, when one's fortune is assured:

   She'll buy a house when her ship comes in.

More idioms and phrases containing ship

• desert a sinking ship
• enough to sink a ship
• shape up (or ship out)
• tight ship
• when one's ship comes in

Example Sentences

In turning the Scotland ship around, no player has had to dig deeper than Ralston.

From BBC

Giving people the right to choose where to fix their broken appliances, rather than having to ship them back to the manufacturer.

From Los Angeles Times

By contrast, “Gangplank Galleon,” which accompanies the game’s climactic pirate ship boss fight, begins in the frisky style of an accordion-led sea shanty.

From New York Times

Finnish officials later said the incident had been caused by a Chinese container ship dragging its anchor.

From BBC

After starting with a tricky Six Nations in 2023, which featured only one win and the threat of strike action against England over contract issues, Gatland steadied the ship for the World Cup.

From BBC

Related Words

• dispatch
• export
• haul
• move
• shift
• smuggle
• transfer
• transmit

Words That Use -ship

What does -ship mean?

The suffix –ship is used to form nouns to indicate a “state of being” or “skill.” It is often used in everyday and technical terms.

The suffix –ship comes from Old English –scipe, meaning “shape.” Yes, shape. Discover why at our entry for shape. The Latin-derived equivalent of –scipe is –form, from Latin –fōrmis, meaning “having the shape of.” This suffix appears in words such as fungiform and oviform. To learn more, check out our Words That Use article on –form.

Examples of -ship

An example of a word you may have encountered that features –ship is scholarship, “learning; knowledge acquired by study.”

The scholar– part of the word means “student” or “learned person.” As we have seen, –ship means “state of being” or “skill.” Scholarship literally means “the state of being a student” or “skill of learning.”

What are some words that use the equivalent of the combining form –ship in Old or Middle English?

• craftsmanship
• friendship
• hardship
• lordship
• township
• worship

What are some other forms that –ship may be commonly confused with?

• -shire

Not every word that ends with the exact letters –ship, such as transship, is necessarily using the combining form –ship to denote “state of being.” Learn why transship means “to transfer” at our entry for the word.

Break it down!

Given the meaning of the suffix –ship, what does friendship literally mean?