ship

1 of 4

noun

plural ships
often attributive
1
a
: a large seagoing vessel
b
: a sailing vessel having a bowsprit and usually three masts each composed of a lower mast, a topmast, and a topgallant mast
2
: boat
especially : one propelled by power or sail
3
: a ship's crew
4
: fortune sense 2
when their ship comes in they'll be able to live in better style
5

see also take ship

ship

2 of 4

verb (1)

shipped; shipping; ships

transitive verb

1
a
: to place or receive on board a ship for transportation by water
b
: to cause to be transported
shipped him off to prep school
2
obsolete : to provide with a ship
3
: to put in place for use
ship the tiller
4
: to take into a ship or boat
ship the gangplank
5
: to engage for service on a ship
6
: to take (water) over the side
used of a boat or a ship

intransitive verb

1
: to embark on a ship
2
a
: to go or travel by ship
often used with out
b
: to proceed by ship or other means under military orders
often used with out
3
: to engage to serve on shipboard
4
: to be sent for delivery
the order will ship soon
shippable adjective

ship

3 of 4

verb (2)

shipped; shipping; ships

transitive verb

informal
: to wishfully regard (specific people or fictional characters) as being or having the potential to become romantically involved with one another
Naturally, their followers gushed … and started shipping them all over again. "Please be back together," one user commented …Alyssa Morin
The Office's on-and-off pairing remained so tantalizingly close after the series wrapped in 2013 that even [Mindy] Kaling gets why people are still shipping them.Sarah Grossbart
Sean Astin, who portrayed Bob Newby, the love interest of Ryder's character, Joyce Byers, in season 2, told Us Weekly exclusively earlier this month that he hopes Jim and Joyce will end up together. "I've shipped them since the beginning," the 49-year-old declared.Samantha Leffler
One close friendship does develop between two girls, and while fans of other Dreamworks shows like She-Ra and the Princesses of Power may start shipping them, budding romance at this point is only wishful thinking.Alana Joli Abbott
How does one even begin to write about Anne and Diana? … Megan Followes herself ships them.Danny M. Lavery

-ship

4 of 4

noun suffix

1
: state : condition : quality
friendship
2
: office : dignity : profession
clerkship
3
: art : skill
horsemanship
4
: something showing, exhibiting, or embodying a quality or state
township
fellowship
5
: one entitled to a (specified) rank, title, or appellation
his Lordship
6
: the body of persons participating in a specified activity
readership
listenership

Examples of ship in a Sentence

Noun the captain of the ship He will travel by ship. Verb (1) The goods were shipped from a foreign port. Your order is expected to ship soon. The company will ship its new software next month. The software will ship next month. The soldiers were shipped overseas for duty. When the waves increased, the boat began shipping water.
Recent Examples on the Web
Noun
Marine Corps forces deployed aboard ships also have historically participated in such missions, but for the foreseeable future, none are expected in the region because of an ongoing shortage of available amphibious ships overseen by the Navy, U.S. officials said. Missy Ryan, Washington Post, 16 Mar. 2024 World Central Kitchen worked with the United Arab Emirates and Cyprus to open a corridor for the Open Arms ship to deliver food to Gaza. Caitlin O'Kane, CBS News, 15 Mar. 2024 States have recently been airdropping aid into Gaza, and now hope to launch a maritime corridor that will allow more ships to deliver food and supplies to the territory. Nadeen Ebrahim, CNN, 15 Mar. 2024 In total, an equally sized ship outfitted with two WindWings could annually save the same amount of emissions as removing 480 cars from roads—but that could even be a relatively conservative estimate, according to WindWing’s makers at BAR Technologies. Andrew Paul, Popular Science, 14 Mar. 2024 Starting in the 1970s, every Navy ship — and, soon, almost every U.S. military base, civilian airport, local fire training facility, and firefighting station — had AFFF on-site in the event of a fire and to use for training. Zoya Teirstein / Grist, Quartz, 14 Mar. 2024 Angela Bassett may have a new Oscar in her living room, but that didn’t spare her from a sinking ship. Andrea Mandell, Peoplemag, 14 Mar. 2024 Instead, Ukraine has used sea drones and missiles to attack Russian ships. Paul Sonne, New York Times, 12 Mar. 2024 More news to know now An aid ship loaded with some 200 tons of food has set sail from Cyprus to Gaza. USA TODAY, 12 Mar. 2024
Verb
The Odesa region's ports were key to last year's international agreement that let Ukraine and Russia ship their grain to the rest of the world. Democrat-Gazette Staff From Wire Reports, arkansasonline.com, 16 Mar. 2024 The organization shipped the food from Cyprus on the Open Arms ship, which belongs to a Spanish nonprofit that helps vulnerable people in emergency situations. Caitlin O'Kane, CBS News, 15 Mar. 2024 King launched online courses as well as an e-commerce service for shipping flowers that could survive the trip, like bulbs and peonies. Max Zahn, ABC News, 15 Mar. 2024 Cotton threads are woven on a large loom at a mill somewhere in Asia, then shipped to a dye house, then shipped (usually a great distance) to a garment factory somewhere else in Asia. Alden Wicker, WIRED, 14 Mar. 2024 These countries then ship the goods to the United States and European Union, which charge them low tariffs or even no tariffs. Keith Bradsher, New York Times, 12 Mar. 2024 In a lawsuit filed Monday, Insight Terminal Solutions, a company owned by a Southern California hedge fund, claims city officials illegally breached ITS’ sublease to build a West Oakland marine terminal that would ship bulk goods overseas. Shomik Mukherjee, The Mercury News, 11 Mar. 2024 One new fee requires sellers to either pay for a new Amazon warehousing service or begin shipping goods to at least four different warehouses on their own dime to avoid the fee. Jason Del Rey, Fortune, 8 Mar. 2024 Both teams also traded veterans before the game, with Ottawa sending Vladimir Tarasenko to Florida and the Ducks shipping Adam Henrique and Sam Carrick to Edmonton. Iliana Limón Romero, Los Angeles Times, 7 Mar. 2024

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'ship.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

Etymology

Noun

Middle English, from Old English scip; akin to Old High German skif ship

Verb (2)

verbal derivative of ship "romantic pairing of a fictional couple," shortened from relationship

Noun suffix

Middle English, from Old English -scipe; akin to Old High German -scaft -ship, Old English scieppan to shape — more at shape

First Known Use

Noun

before the 12th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1a

Verb (1)

14th century, in the meaning defined at transitive sense 1a

Verb (2)

1998, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of ship was before the 12th century

Dictionary Entries Near ship

Cite this Entry

“Ship.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/ship. Accessed 29 Mar. 2024.

Kids Definition

ship

1 of 3 noun
1
: a large seagoing boat
2
: a ship's crew
3

ship

2 of 3 verb
shipped; shipping
1
a
: to place or receive on board a ship for transportation by water
b
: to cause to be transported
had her boxes shipped home
2
: to take into a ship or boat
ship oars
3
: to sign on as a crew member of a ship
4
: to take in (as water) over the side

-ship

3 of 3 noun suffix
ˌship
1
: state : condition : quality
friendship
apprenticeship
2
: position : office : duties
professorship
3
: art : skill : activity
horsemanship
penmanship
4
: one having or entitled to be called by a (specified) title
his Lordship
her Ladyship
5
: the whole body of persons included in a class
a large readership
Etymology

Noun suffix

Old English -scipe "condition, something having a certain quality"

More from Merriam-Webster on ship

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