Ship is a small to medium sea vessel used for transporting people or goods, or a fictional or symbolic vessel in literature and culture. It is also a verb meaning to send something by ship. The word denotes maritime craft and is commonly used in naval, travel, and metaphorical contexts (ship as a vehicle, relationship slang, etc.). The term is concise, concrete, and widely understood across English-speaking communities.
"The ship sailed smoothly across the Atlantic."
"She booked a cruise and boarded the ship."
"The cargo ship delivered supplies to the port."
"Fans shipped the couple after the romantic scene in the film."
Ship comes from Old English scip, related to scip meaning a ship or boat. It is cognate with Old Norseskip and Dutch schip, reflecting a Germanic origin that traces to Proto-Germanic *skipan-/**skip- to 'ship' or 'vessel'. The term has been in continuous use since early medieval English, evolving from broader maritime terms to its modern sense of a seafaring vessel versus metaphorical uses (relationship “ship”) and idiomatic phrasings. Its semantic core centers on transport by sea, including cargo and passenger roles, with shifts towards symbolic and modern slang meanings in popular culture. First known written appearances appear in Old English texts, with widespread usage by the Middle English period; the word persisted through Early Modern English into contemporary usage, maintaining its nautical core while expanding into metaphor and colloquial speech.
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💡 These words have similar meanings to "Ship" and can often be used interchangeably.
🔄 These words have opposite meanings to "Ship" and show contrast in usage.
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Words that rhyme with "Ship"
-lip sounds
-rip sounds
Practice with these rhyming pairs to improve your pronunciation consistency:
🎵 Rhyme tip: Practicing with rhyming words helps you master similar sound patterns and improves your overall pronunciation accuracy.
Pronounce it as /ʃɪp/. Start with the /ʃ/ sound (sh as in shine), place the tongue blade near the alveolar ridge and let air escape without voice. Move to a short /ɪ/ vowel (as in 'kit'), then end with /p/. The word is monosyllabic with primary stress on the single syllable. For reference, you can listen to standard pronunciations on Pronounce or Cambridge dictionaries; try to imitate the smooth blend from /ʃ/ to /ɪ/ to /p/ without breaking between sounds.
Common errors include turning /ʃ/ into a /s/ or /ʒ/ sound, producing an elongated /iː/ vowel, or adding an extra vowel between /ɪ/ and /p/. To correct: keep the /ʃ/ as a soft, hushing sound, use a short /ɪ/ rather than /iː/, and end abruptly with a clean /p/. Practicing with minimal pairs like 'sip/ship' helps lock the correct place and length. Focus on avoiding vowel lengthening in this closed syllable.
In US, UK, and AU, /ʃɪp/ remains the same phoneme sequence, but vowel quality and vowel reduction can subtly shift. US vowels may be slightly tenser; UK often has a crisp /ɪ/ with less vowel reduction, while AU tends toward a brighter, more centralized /ɪ/. All varieties maintain non-rhoticity in many contexts—though not universally—so /r/ is not pronounced unless followed by a vowel in rhotic accents. Listening for the subtle vowel height and lip rounding differences helps you spot the variation.
The challenge lies in the quick transition from /ʃ/ to /ɪ/ and then stopping with /p/ without releasing extra aspiration. Beginners often over-aspirate /p/ or soften /ʃ/ into /s/. Also, some learners lengthen /ɪ/ before the final /p/, making the word sound like 'ship' with an elongated vowel. Focus on a tight, clean closing /p/ and a fast, smooth glide from /ʃ/ to /ɪ/ to /p/ to avoid extra voicing or vowel length.
Ship is a classic example of a single-syllable, closed syllable word where the vowel /ɪ/ occurs in a short, lax position before a voiceless plosive /p/. The mouth positions are: lips rounded for /ʃ/ at onset, tongue high and relaxed for /ɪ/, and the stop release for /p/ with bilabial closure. The key is crisp onset and a rapid coda closure, which prevents any postconsonantal vowel elongation or voicing.
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