June 27, 2012 - Word of the Day

ship

When the word "ship" is used as a verb, it means to send something through the postal system. You mail a package or something that is large.

• How much would it cost to ship a bike from New York to Los Angeles?
• The company that Laurie works for ships its products to countries all over the world.
• Bob needs to ship something by overnight delivery.
• They shipped their son off to military school because he needed more discipline. (You can use "ship" with a person.)
• The business cards we ordered were free, but we had to pay ten dollars for shipping. (The noun form of "ship" is "shipping.")
• Shipping and handling costs added a lot of extra money to our purchase.
• We received a new shipment of paper. (The word "shipment" is also a noun.)
• The shipment on the dock is ready to be picked up and delivered.

The word "ship" is also used to describe a boat. That's how the word probably changed over time from a noun, to a verb. Nowadays, many things are shipped by plane or by truck, but large ships are still used for really big items, such as cars.

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