ship

What it means

To root for two people — real or fictional — to be in a romantic relationship. Fans 'ship' couples they're emotionally invested in, sometimes merging their names into a 'ship name.'

Examples

• I've shipped those two characters since season one.
• Stop shipping me with my best friend, we're just friends.
• The whole fandom ships them, the chemistry is undeniable.
• I ship it so hard, they'd be the cutest couple ever.

Where it comes from

Short for 'relationship,' it emerged from online fan-fiction communities in the late 1990s. It spread to mainstream fandom culture on Tumblr and Twitter over the following decades.

Related slang