shipshape
Syllables: ship·shape/ˈʃɪpʃeɪp/US/ˈʃɪpˌʃeɪp/
shipshape adjective: meticulously neat and tidy.
Adjective
shipshape (comparative more shipshape, superlative most shipshape)
- Meticulously neat and tidy.
- SHIP-shape, in a seaman-like manner; as "That mast is not rigged ship-shape;" "Put her about ship-shape," &c.[1801, J. J. Moore, “SHIP-shape”, in The British Mariner’s Vocabulary, […], London: […] T. Hurst [et al.], →OCLC
- [I]t would have been more ship-shape to lower the bight of a rope, or a running bow-line, below me, than to seize an old sea-man by his head-lanyard; [...]1823, [James Fenimore Cooper], chapter V, in The Pioneers, or The Sources of the Susquehanna; […], volume II, New York, N.Y.: Charles Wiley; […], →OCLC, page 83
Adverb
shipshape (comparative more shipshape, superlative most shipshape)
- Neatly and tidily to a meticulous extent.
- No—sir—if I sink, I sink; but d——e, I'll go down ship-shape and with dignity.1840, [James Fenimore Cooper], chapter XV, in The Pathfinder: Or, The Inland Sea. […], volume I, Philadelphia, Pa.: Lea and Blanchard, →OCLC, page 233
- I have said a good deal about Bertha, because I like her frank, easy way, her desire to please, and her pleasant natural manner of doing it. I do n't think novel-writers and picture-makers say enough about such girls. [...] Those are the girls, Ma'am, whom I want to see described by people who know...1860 September, “The Observations of Mace Sloper, Esq.: Second Series. The Cottage on the North River.”, in Lewis Gaylord Clark, editor, The Knickerbocker, or New-York Monthly Magazine, volume LVI...
- Synonyms:
- handsomely
shipshape meaning in Hindi, Tamil, Kannada and Tagalog
shipshape in Hindi
- meticulously neat and tidy
- ठीक-ठाक ṭhīk-ṭhāk
shipshape in Tamil
- கட்டான, செம்மையான, துப்புரவான, தூய்மையான, ஒழுங்மைக்கப்பட்ட, ஒழுங்கான
shipshape in Kannada
- ಅಚ್ಚುಕಟ್ಟಾದ, ಓರಣಗೊಳಿಸಿದ
shipshape in Tagalog
- meticulously neat and tidy
- maayos
Examples of shipshape in a sentence
- [G]lad to see you, gentlemen—steerage not quite shipshape at present—overhauling ship, you see; but when we once get under way, get things shipshape, you know.1835 July, Jack Block, “The Cruise of the Mohawk”, in The American Monthly Magazine, volume V, number V, New York, N.Y.: D. K. Minor, and...
- Annie, my girl, cheer up, be comforted, / Look to the babes, and till I come again, / Keep everything shipshape, for I must go.1864, Alfred Tennyson, “Enoch Arden”, in Enoch Arden, &c., London: Edward Moxon & Co., […], →OCLC, page 13:
- All well, I hope; all shipshape and seaworthy?1881–1882, Robert Louis Stevenson, “Powder and Arms”, in Treasure Island, London; Paris: Cassell & Company, published 14 November 1883...
- ― When are you going out fishing again? / ― Oh, in about six weeks, when we're shipshape aloft.1937 May 11, John Lee Mahin, Marc Connelly, Dale Van Every, 1:44:00 from the start, in Captains Courageous, [Hollywood, Calif.]...
Synonyms of shipshape
- shipshape and Bristol fashion
- tight
- in order
- neat
- neat and tidy
- neat as a new pin
- neat as a pin
- nice as ninepence
- orderly
- regular
12 more synonymsFewer synonyms
Antonyms
Forms of shipshape
| Adjective | |
|---|---|
| comparative | more shipshape |
| superlative | most shipshape |
| alternative form | ship-shape |
| Adverb | |
| comparative | more shipshape |
| superlative | most shipshape |
Origin of shipshape
From ship + shapen (“shaped; wrought with a definite shape”), later shortened to shape. The word is of nautical origin, based on the obligation of a sailor to keep his or her quarters arranged neatly and securely due to the limited space typically allotted to service members aboard ship, and against turbulence at sea.
Words formed from shipshape
Questions about shipshape
- What does shipshape mean?
- Shipshape means meticulously neat and tidy.
- What is shipshape in Hindi?
- Shipshape in Hindi is ठीक-ठाक (ṭhīk-ṭhāk). See Shipshape meaning in Hindi.
- How do you use shipshape in a sentence?
- [G]lad to see you, gentlemen—steerage not quite shipshape at present—overhauling ship, you see; but when we once get under way, get things shipshape, you know.
- What part of speech is shipshape?
- Shipshape can be an adjective or an adverb.
- How do you pronounce shipshape?
- Shipshape is pronounced /ˈʃɪpʃeɪp/ (UK).
Words near shipshape in the dictionary
Source and license
Adapted from Wiktionary: shipshape (page history and authors); shipshape (Tamil Wiktionary) (page history and authors); shipshape (Kannada Wiktionary) (page history and authors). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.
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Pronunciation audio from Wikimedia Commons, each file under its own free license: LL-Q1860 (eng)-I learned some phrases-shipshape.wav.
Cite this entry: “shipshape.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/shipshape. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.