# shipping

Pronunciation: US say "SHIP-ing" /ˈʃɪpɪŋ/; UK

## Noun

1. The transport of goods from one location to another.
   - Simple: The act of moving goods from one place to another.
   - _Containerized shipping cut delivery times across the world dramatically._
   - _The company outsourced its shipping to a specialist logistics firm._
2. The charge for sending an item or package through postal or carrier services.
   - Simple: The money you pay to send a package by mail or courier.
   - _Customers often abandon their carts when shipping pushes the total too high._
   - _The seller waived shipping for the loyal customer as a goodwill gesture._
3. The ships belonging to a particular nation, port, or industry, considered collectively.
   - Simple: All the ships that belong to a country, port, or type of business.
   - _Allied shipping was the target of relentless submarine warfare._
   - _The strait remains one of the busiest channels for commercial shipping._
5. Among fans, the desire for two or more people or characters, real or fictional, to be in a romantic or sexual relationship. *(slang)*
   - Simple: A fan's wish for two people or characters to be a romantic couple.
   - _Online shipping of the two costars spiraled into endless fan art and theories._
   - _Half the convention panel turned into a heated debate about shipping._
6. Conveyance or passage aboard a ship.
   - Simple: Travel or transport by ship from one place to another.
   - _The merchant secured shipping for his crates on the morning tide._
   - _Passengers sought shipping to the islands during the dry season._
7. Navigation; the directing of a vessel's course at sea.
   - Simple: The act of steering and guiding ships at sea.
   - _The pilot's skill in shipping carried the schooner safely into harbor._
   - _Sound shipping through the narrows required constant attention to the depths._

## Verb

4. Present participle of ship. — present participle and gerund of ship
   - Simple: Present participle of ship. Use this form for action happening right now, often after 'is' or 'are'.
   - _The factory is shipping thousands of units ahead of the holidays._
   - _By noon they were shipping the last of the backlog._

## Origin

**Meanings 1–3, 6–7** — From Middle English 'schipping', from 'schippen' (to take ship, navigate), from Old English 'scipian' (to take ship; equip and man a ship); equivalent to 'ship' plus '-ing'.
**Meaning 4** — Formed from 'ship' plus the suffix '-ing'.
**Meaning 5** — A clipping of 'relationshipping'.

Source: DictionaryAI, https://dictionaryai.com/define/shipping (written from Wiktionary data, CC BY-SA 4.0: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/).