Ship

/ʃɪp/ noun, verb, slang

noun, verb, slang ·Very common ·Middle school level

Meaning at a glance

  • Primary sense: A water-borne vessel generally larger than a boat.
  • Grammar: ship is listed as noun, verb, slang.
  • Nearest alternatives: -hood, -osity, address, administration.
  • Useful contrasts: aircraft, boat, breakdown.
  • Usage evidence: The fandom ships them together.

How to use "ship"

  1. Start with the primary definition, then check the part of speech before placing the word in a sentence.
  2. Compare nearby synonyms to make sure "ship" carries the exact meaning, tone, and strength you need.
  3. Use the example sentence as a context check. If your sentence uses the word differently, confirm that the grammar still fits.

Meaning check

  • Does the word fit the sentence's grammar?
  • Does it match the intended tone rather than only the dictionary definition?
  • Would a simpler synonym be clearer for the reader?
  • Is there enough surrounding context to prevent ambiguity?

Source and review context

This entry combines structured lexical data with WordToolSet review checks. Definitions, examples, synonyms, and usage notes may come from different source tables, so the page is designed to show evidence from more than one angle before you rely on "ship" in a final draft.

If a word has several senses, prefer the sense that matches your sentence's grammar and surrounding context. A correct definition can still be the wrong choice when the sentence needs a different register, emphasis, or level of specificity.

Before you rely on this definition

Read the first definition as a starting point, then check the example, synonyms, and part of speech before treating "ship" as the right word for your sentence.

If your draft is formal, technical, persuasive, or sensitive, compare "ship" with a nearby alternative so the final choice matches both meaning and reader expectation.

Compare nearby meanings

  • Use synonyms when you need a softer, stronger, simpler, or more specific word.
  • Use antonyms to check the boundary of the meaning and avoid accidental contrast.
  • Use the example sentence to confirm the word behaves naturally in context.
  • Keep the original wording when a replacement adds complexity without improving precision.

Definition decision workflow

1. Identify the role

Check whether "ship" is acting as noun, verb, slang in your sentence. A definition is only useful when the grammar matches the way the word is being used.

2. Test the nearest option

Compare it with "-hood" and other nearby choices to see whether the sentence needs a softer, stronger, or more familiar word.

3. Confirm with context

Use the example sentence below as an evidence check, then read your own sentence out loud to catch tone or rhythm problems.

Review note: Definition pages are checked for source coverage, sentence evidence, synonym support, and editorial insight before they are treated as approval-ready pages. If the evidence is too thin, the page remains available to users but is kept out of the approval-facing indexed inventory.

Final meaning check

Before publishing a sentence with "ship", ask whether the word helps the reader understand the idea faster. A precise word should reduce confusion, not simply make the sentence look more polished.

When the definition, synonym evidence, and example context point in the same direction, the word is usually a safer choice. When they conflict, revise the sentence or choose a clearer alternative.

Definitions

Noun
  1. 1
    A water-borne vessel generally larger than a boat.
  2. 2
    A fictional romantic relationship between two characters, either real or themselves fictional, especially one explored in fan fiction. slang
  3. 3
    a vessel that carries passengers or freight wordnet
  4. 4
    A vessel which travels through any medium other than across land, such as an airship or spaceship. in-compounds
  5. 5
    Clipping of relationship. abbreviation, alt-of, clipping, uncommon

    "Along the way, I have developed a few rules. When you’re seeing someone, it is only polite to hit pause on these ex-ships, or at least dial them back."

Show 6 more definitions
  1. 6
    A spaceship. in-compounds

    "I don't know if there is another standard method, but the following approach works: Consider the collision of gliders from three rakes that produces a medium spaceship in the _same_ direction as the rake. This ship will follow along to the next collision point, which will not produce a spaceship, but rather some stable garbage, consisting of a block and a beehive."

  2. 7
    A particular still life consisting of an empty cell surrounded by six live cells.

    "But there are no ships, and no natural traffic lights or honey farms. The ship self destructs, and the predecessors to the traffic lights and honey farms self-destruct in spectacular manners."

  3. 8
    A sailing vessel with three or more square-rigged masts. archaic, formal
  4. 9
    A dish or utensil (originally fashioned like the hull of a ship) used to hold incense.
  5. 10
    The third card of the Lenormand deck.
  6. 11
    An aircraft. dated

    "This means that the landing wheels are not so far forward of the ship's center of gravity ; and that means that ground contact is less likely to produce a bounce."

Verb
  1. 1
    To send by water-borne transport. transitive

    "All the timber whereof, was […] ſhipped in the bay of Attalia[…], from whence it was by ſea tranſported to Pelusium."

  2. 2
    To support or approve of a fictional romantic relationship between two characters, typically in fan fiction or other fandom contexts. slang, transitive

    "I ship Kirk and Spock in Star Trek."

  3. 3
    place on board a ship wordnet
  4. 4
    To send (a parcel or container) to a recipient (by any means of transport). transitive

    "to ship freight by railroad"

  5. 5
    travel by ship wordnet
Show 13 more definitions
  1. 6
    To release (a product, not necessarily physical) to vendors or customers; to launch. ergative

    "Our next issue ships early next year."

  2. 7
    transport commercially wordnet
  3. 8
    To engage to serve on board a vessel. ergative

    "to ship seamen"

  4. 9
    go on board wordnet
  5. 10
    To embark on a ship. intransitive

    "I shipped with them and becoming friends, we set forth on our venture, in health and safety; and sailed with a fair wind, till we came to a city called Madínat-al-Sín; […]"

  6. 11
    hire for work on a ship wordnet
  7. 12
    To put or secure in its place. transitive

    "to ship the tiller or rudder"

  8. 13
    To take in or take on (water) over the sides of a vessel. transitive

    "She was half in the water, a mere hulk, her rigging torn to shreds, her main mast cut away, and every sea she shipped, Melmoth could hear distinctly the dying cries of those who were swept away, or perhaps of those whose mind and body, alike exhausted, relaxed their benumbed hold of hope and life together,—knew that the next shriek that was uttered must be their own and their last."

  9. 14
    To leave, depart, scram. colloquial

    "Douglas: Sorry girls, you better go. Girls! Ship it!"

  10. 15
    To pass (from one person to another). colloquial, ditransitive

    "Can you ship me the ketchup?"

  11. 16
    To go all in. ambitransitive, slang
  12. 17
    To trade or send (a player) to another team. transitive

    "Twins ship Delmon Young to Tigers."

  13. 18
    To draw (a penalty) by bungling a kick and giving the opposing team possession. transitive

    "England were shipping penalties at an alarming rate - five in the first 15 minutes alone - and with Wilkinson missing three long-distance pots of his own in the first 20 minutes, the alarm bells began to ring for Martin Johnson's men."

Slang
  1. 1
    To support a romantic pairing between characters or people. slang, fandom, 2010s-2020s

    "The fandom ships them together."

Synonyms

All synonyms
-hood-osityaddressadministrationaeroplaneaerostat

Example

"The fandom ships them together."

Common questions

What does "ship" mean?

A water-borne vessel generally larger than a boat.

What is a synonym for "ship"?

Common synonyms include: -hood, -osity, address, administration, aeroplane, aerostat.

How do you use "ship" in a sentence?

The fandom ships them together.

How do you pronounce "ship"?

Pronounced /ʃɪp/.

Etymology

Etymology 1

From Middle English ship, schip, from Old English sċip, from Proto-West Germanic *skip, from Proto-Germanic *skipą, from Proto-Indo-European *skēyb-, *skib-. More at shift. Cognates Cognate with West Frisian skip, Dutch schip, German Schiff, Yiddish שיף (shif), Danish skib, Norwegian skip, Swedish skepp. Related also to Lithuanian skiẽbti (“to rip up”), Latvian škibît (“to cut, lop”). Compare typologically boat, from Proto-Indo-European *bʰeyd-.

Etymology 2

From Middle English schippen, schipen, from Old English sċipian, from Proto-West Germanic *skipōn, from Proto-Germanic *skipōną, from Proto-Germanic *skipą (“ship”). Doublet of equip.

Etymology 3

Clipping of relationship.

More for "ship"

Synonyms

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