Shipping Definition & Meaning

American

British

Usage

Other Word Forms

Etymology

Examples

Related Words

Synonyms shipping 1 American [ship-ing] / ˈʃɪp ɪŋ /

noun

1. the act or business of a person or thing that ships.

2. a number of ships, especially merchant ships, taken as a whole; tonnage.

3. Obsolete. a voyage.

shipping 2 American [ship-ing] / ˈʃɪp ɪŋ /

noun

Slang.

1. the act or practice of discussing, writing about, or hoping for 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 shipping of TV characters;

   shipping in webcomics.

shipping British / ˈʃɪpɪŋ /

noun

1. 1. the business of transporting freight, esp by ship

   2. ( as modifier )

      a shipping magnate

      shipping line

2. 1. ships collectively

      there is a lot of shipping in the Channel

   2. the tonnage of a number of ships

      shipping for this year exceeded that of last

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Usage

What else does shipping mean? Shipping is the act of wanting two or more fictional characters or celebrities to end up in a relationship, usually romantic.

Other Word Forms

• nonshipping adjective

Etymology

Origin of shipping1

Middle English word dating back to 1250–1300; ship 1, -ing 1

Origin of shipping2

First recorded in 1990–95; (relation)ship + -ing 1

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

The stock wobbled recently amid reports of the company potentially trailing its Korean rivals in shipping the newest type of HBM chip to Nvidia, but executives and analysts have dismissed those fears.

From Barron's

The stock wobbled recently amid reports of the company potentially trailing its Korean rivals in shipping the newest type of HBM chip to Nvidia, but executives and analysts have dismissed those fears.

From Barron's

Oil markets could convulse if Tehran disrupted Gulf shipping.

From The Wall Street Journal

Indigenous protesters in Brazil occupied a shipping terminal operated by US agricultural giant Cargill on Saturday, demanding a ban on dredging Amazon waterways.

From Barron's

At the main office of the Cubamax company in Hialeah, northwest of Miami, which handles remittances, shipping and travel, about 10 customers lined up before opening time.

From Barron's

Related Words

• freight
• ship

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.