shanghai
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shanghai¹
- /ˈʃæŋ.haɪ/ US
- /ʃæŋˈhaɪ/ US
- /ʃɑŋˈhaɪ/ US
- /ʃæŋˈhaɪ/ UK
- /ˈʃæŋ.haɪ/ UK
Rhymes with -aɪ
Where it comes from
1871, from the important Chinese port Shanghai, as a verb with reference to the former practice by some shippers on the West Coast of the United States of press-ganging crews for fishing or shipping in the Pacific Ocean.
verb shanghais · shanghaiing · shanghaied · shanghai'd
- To force or trick someone to go somewhere or do something against their will or interest, particularly 1974 September 30, ‘Final Report on the Activities of the Children of God', Oftentimes the approach is to shanghai an unsuspecting victim.
- To press-gang sailors, especially (historical) for shipping or fishing work. By this time I hadn't much doubt of the nature of the trap and the identity of the trapping vessel. The faint smell of alcohol in the forehold told the story. I had been sandbagged and taken aboard a bootlegging craft, shanghaied in good old-fashioned style; and the vessel was probably now on its wa
- To trick a suspect into entering a jurisdiction in which they can be lawfully arrested.
- To transfer a serviceman against their will. “Why, if you so loved and cherished the armed guard,” Captain Banning continued, “did you arrange for transfer?” “I never, sir! ... But he shanghaied me out of the armed guard pronto.”
- To commandeer, hijack, or otherwise (usually wrongfully) appropriate a place or thing. Let's see if we can shanghai a room for a couple of hours.
noun shanghais · shanghae · shangeye
- A breed of chicken with large bodies, long legs, and feathered shanks. Cochins or Shanghaes.
- A kind of daub. The ‘shanghai’ is the glaring daub required by some frame-makers for cheap auctions. They are turned out at so much by the day's labor, or at from $12 to $24 a dozen, by the piece.
- A tall dandy.
- A kind of dart game in which players are gradually eliminated ("shanghaied"), usually either by failing to reach a certain score in 3 quick throws or during a competition to hit a certain prechosen number and then be the first to hit the prechosen numbers of the other players. ‘Shanghai’ may be played by teams of 8, in pairs, individually, or, in fact, any number.
shanghai²
- /ˈʃæŋ.haɪ/ US
- /ʃæŋˈhaɪ/ US
- /ʃɑŋˈhaɪ/ US
- /ʃæŋˈhaɪ/ UK
- /ˈʃæŋ.haɪ/ UK
Rhymes with -aɪ
Where it comes from
From Scottish shangan, from Scottish Gaelic seangan, influenced by the Chinese city.
noun shanghais · shanghae · shangeye
-
Synonym of slingshot.
Turn, turn thy shang~hay dread aside,
Nor touch that little bird
Similar: slingshot
verb shanghais · shanghaiing · shanghaied · shanghae · shangeye
- To hit with a slingshot.
Shanghai³
- /ʃæŋˈhaɪ/ UK
- /ˈʃæŋ.haɪ/ UK
- /ˈʃɛŋhaɪ/ US
- /ʃaŋˈhaɪ/ US
- /ʃæŋˈhɑe/ Australia
- /ˈʃæŋ.hɑe/ Australia
- [ˈʃeːŋ.hɑe̯] Australia
Rhymes with -aɪ
Where it comes from
c. 1840, likely from an English-derived romanization of the Mandarin Chinese pronunciation of Chinese 上海 (Shànghǎi), reinforced by Wade–Giles, Postal Romanization, and Hanyu Pinyin.
proper noun Shang-hai · Shanghae · Shang-hae · Shanhae · Chang-hai
-
A major port city and direct-administered municipality of China, the largest urban area in China.
SHANGHAI (the emporium of Nanking) is the first town of any importance on the coast of Kiangnan province.[…]If, however, these difficulties were surmounted, and suitable precautions taken against existing dangers, the embouchure of this river would be one of the most eligible points for the establis
Similar: Paris of the East
- A major international port including the eastern coast of Shanghai Municipality and the northeastern islands of Zhejiang Province.
noun Shanghais · Shang-hai · Shanghae · Shang-hae · Shanhae · Chang-hai
- Alternative letter-case form of shanghai in its various senses derived from the Chinese city
Thesaurus
Closest in meaning: impress, city, municipality, strait, sea, nanking, chinese, shanghainese, china, kong, nanjing, beijing, jiangsu, zhejiang, tianjin, sichuan
Translations
Every language
verb to force or trick into work, especially joining a ship
| Español | emborrachar |
|---|---|
| 中文 | 強迫 /强迫, 誘騙 /诱骗 yòupiàn |
| Français | shangaïer |
| Deutsch | schanghaien |
| Italiano | arruolare a forza |
name Chinese municipality and port
| Español | Shanghái |
|---|---|
| 한국어 | 상하이 Sanghai, 상해 Sanghae |
| 日本語 | 上海 Shanhai, シャンハイ Shanhai |
| 中文 | 上海 Shànghǎi, 滬 /沪 abbr., 申 Shēn, 申城 Shēnchéng |
| हिन्दी | शंघाई śaṅghāī |
| Português | Xangai |
| Français | Shanghaï |
| Deutsch | Schanghai |
| Italiano | Shanghai |
| Ελληνικά | Σανγκάη Sangkái |
| Русский | Шанха́й Šanxáj |
| Tiếng Việt | Thượng Hải |
| العربية | شَانْغْهَاي šānḡhāy, شَانْغْخَاي šānḡḵāy |
| עברית | שַׁאנְגחָאי shang-khái |
Talk about this word "shanghai." Wiktionary, via Micwyn, micwyn.com/word/shanghai. Accessed 6 Nov. 2026. shanghai. (n.d.). In Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Retrieved November 6, 2026, from https://micwyn.com/word/shanghai "shanghai." Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Accessed November 6, 2026. https://micwyn.com/word/shanghai.Cite this
@misc{shanghai_2026,
title = {shanghai},
howpublished = {Wiktionary, via Micwyn},
year = {2026},
url = {https://micwyn.com/word/shanghai},
urldate = {2026-11-06}
}
