Welcome to our post about ship idioms! Ships are big boats that carry people or things across the water. Today, we’ll learn how the word “ship” is used in everyday English phrases.
Ship Idioms
Here are 20 ship idioms in English with meaning and example sentences for each.
1. Miss the boat
Meaning: Lose an opportunity
Example: I missed the boat on the early bird discount.
2. On board
Meaning: Agree or participate
Example: Are you on board with the plan?
3. Jump ship
Meaning: Leave a group or activity
Example: He jumped ship after the first week.
4. Tight ship
Meaning: Managed with strict control
Example: She runs a very tight ship at home.
5. Rock the boat
Meaning: Cause disturbance
Example: Don’t rock the boat during the meeting.
6. Shipshape
Meaning: Neat and well-arranged
Example: He keeps his desk very ship-shaped.
7. Push the boat out
Meaning: Spend a lot of money
Example: They really pushed the boat out for the wedding.
8. Run a tight ship
Meaning: Control something firmly and effectively
Example: Our boss runs a tight ship here.
9. Ships in the night
Meaning: Brief, unimportant encounter
Example: We passed like ships in the night.
10. Sink or swim
Meaning: Fail or succeed by own efforts
Example: It’s a sink-or-swim moment for him.
11. Ship off
Meaning: Send someone or something away
Example: They shipped off the goods yesterday.
12. Ship out
Meaning: Depart, especially to start a journey
Example: He’s shipping out to Europe tomorrow.
13. In the same boat
Meaning: In the same situation
Example: We are all in the same boat with this problem.
14. Abandon ship
Meaning: Leave a failing enterprise
Example: It’s time to abandon ship on this project.
15. Ferry around
Meaning: Drive or move someone from place to place
Example: I spent all day ferrying around the kids.
16. Full steam ahead
Meaning: Proceed with all possible speed
Example: It’s full steam ahead with the plans!
17. Know the ropes
Meaning: Understand the details
Example: He really knows the ropes in this department.
18. Like a sinking ship
Meaning: Rapidly failing
Example: The project went down like a sinking ship.
19. Make waves
Meaning: Cause trouble
Example: Try not to make waves at work.
20. Batten down the hatches
Meaning: Prepare for a difficult situation
Example: We need to batten down the hatches for the storm.
