ship

SHIP/ʃɪp/

Pluralships

Verbships, shipping, shipped

18 meanings of ship

Practice

1
sea vesselnouncountable
A large vessel that travels on water, bigger than a boat.
Like a floating building that carries people and goods across the sea.
The huge ship sailed slowly into the harbor.
Sailors loaded boxes onto the ship before it left.
UsageTravel by ship, or get on a ship.
Similarvessel, boat
2
send a packageverbtransitive
To send goods or a package to someone, by ship, truck, train or plane.
I'll ship the books to your house tomorrow.
They shipped the order the same day she paid.
UsageShip something to someone. Your order ships today.
Similarsend, dispatch, transport
Oppositereceive
Note
3
flying craftnouncountablein compounds
A craft that travels through the air or through space instead of on water.
Like a boat, but it travels through space or the sky instead of water.
The ship drifted silently through deep space.
A huge ship floated high above the clouds.
Similarspacecraft, craft, vessel
Note
4
release productverbtransitive or intransitive
To finish a product and send it out to people who buy it.
Like finishing a cake and finally setting it out for everyone to eat.
The team hopes to ship the new app by Friday.
They shipped the update late last night.
UsageThe team ships the app, or the app ships on Friday.
Similarrelease, launch, deliver
Note

Less common meanings

5
root for coupleverbslangtransitive
To want two people or characters, real or made up, to become a romantic couple.
Like cheering for two people in a story to become a couple.
I totally ship those two characters.
Lots of fans shipped the hero and the villain.
UsageSay I ship those two characters.
Note
6
nounslangcountable
A romantic relationship, especially one that fans imagine or want two people or characters to have.
Like hoping two people on your favorite show will fall in love.
Their favorite ship is the two main characters from the show.
Fans wrote stories about the popular ship all summer.
Note
7
trade playerverbtransitive
To send a player to a different team, often in a trade.
The team shipped their best player to a rival.
They might ship the young pitcher next season.
UsageSay the team shipped him to a rival.
Similartrade, deal, transfer
Note
8
verbcolloquialintransitive
To leave a place quickly, usually said as the order ship it.
Douglas: Sorry girls, you better go. Girls! Ship it!
2008, Graham Linehan, The IT Crowd
UsageSay ship out: we shipped out early.
Similarsplit, scram, bolt, leave
Note
9
go aboardverbintransitive
To go on board a ship for a trip, often to work as one of its crew.
At seventeen, he shipped as a cook on a fishing boat.
My grandfather wanted to ship aboard a freighter when he was young.
Oppositedisembark, land
Note
10
take on waterverbtransitive
To take in water over the side of a boat.
Like water splashing into a bowl over its edge.
The small boat began to ship water in the rough sea.
They shipped water every time a big wave hit.
UsageSay the boat shipped water.
Note
11
verbcolloquialUKtransitivebritish
To let the other team score goals or points against your team.
Our team shipped three goals in the last ten minutes of the match.
If we ship another goal before half-time, the manager will go mad.
UsageSay they shipped three goals. Concede is more formal.
Similarconcede, leak
Oppositescore
12
hand oververbcolloquial
To hand or pass something to another person.
Like passing a plate of food around the dinner table.
He took the pass and quickly shipped the ball to his teammate.
If two players guard you, ship the ball to whoever is open.
UsageSay ship me the salt.
Similarpass, send, hand
Note
13
fit in placeverbtransitive
To put a part, such as a rudder or tiller, into its correct place on a boat.
Like putting a key into a lock so it sits exactly where it should.
Ship the rudder now so we can steer away from the dock.
He shipped the tiller into its slot before we left the harbor.
Note
14
go all inverbslangtransitive or intransitive
In poker, to bet all of your chips at once.
Like betting all your money on one card.
She looked at her cards and shipped everything into the pot.
If you think you have the best hand, just ship it.
Similarshove, jam
Oppositefold
Note
15
nounarchaic
A large, old-style sailing boat with three or more masts, all of them carrying square sails.
16
noun
A small, boat-shaped container used to hold incense before it is burned.
17
noun
In a grid-based computer simulation, a shape of cells that travels across the grid.
18
noun
In a grid-based computer simulation, an unchanging shape of six live cells around one empty cell.

Practice

Can you tell the meanings of ship apart? Answer 3 quick questions from this page, or write your own sentence and AI will check it.

Origins

Meanings 1, 3

From Old English "sċip," going back through Proto-Germanic, perhaps to an ancient Indo-European root. It is related to German "Schiff" and Dutch "schip."

Checked 1 Nov 2026 · 5 facts

English ship derives from Old English sċip. en.wiktionary.org
The word's ancestry extends through Proto-Germanic. en.wiktionary.org
An ultimate origin in an ancient Indo-European root is possible. en.wiktionary.org
English ship is related to German Schiff. en.wiktionary.org
English ship is related to Dutch schip. en.wiktionary.org

Meanings 2, 4, 7–14

From Old English "sċipian," a verb built from the word for "ship." It is a doublet of "equip."

Checked 1 Nov 2026 · 3 facts

The verb ship descends from Old English sċipian. en.wiktionary.org
The verb's formation ultimately derives from the noun meaning ship. en.wiktionary.org
Ship and equip are etymological doublets. en.wikipedia.org

Meanings 5–6

Short for "relationship." Fans of the TV show The X-Files started using it online in the 1990s.

Checked 1 Nov 2026 · 2 facts

Ship is short for relationship. en.wiktionary.org
The relationship sense began online among fans of the television show The X-Files in the 1990s. en.wikipedia.org