shipway

shipway — noun

1. a long, sloping framework built at a shipyard, used to support a ship while it i

1.nounC2
Definition

a long, sloping framework built at a shipyard, used to support a ship while it is being constructed and to guide it into the water when launched

Example

The workers moved the hull onto the shipway before beginning construction.

collocation: hull onto [the] shipway

After months of work, the new vessel slid down the shipway into the harbour.

collocation: slid down / launched from shipway

Common collocations
  • on the shipway
  • down the shipway
  • move the hull onto the shipway
  • launch from the shipway
  • inspect the shipway
  • wooden shipway
  • concrete shipway
Synonyms
  • slipway

    more common for recreational boats and smaller vessels; often used interchangeably with shipway in professional contexts

  • ways

    plural-only term used by shipbuilders for the sloping timbers that support the hull during construction

  • building berth

    focuses on the construction platform itself rather than the sloping launch structure

Grammar Patterns

on + the + shipway

down + the + shipway

Usage Note

Often shortened to ways (plural) by shipyard workers. For smaller vessels and leisure boats, slipway is the more common term.

Word family

Synonym discussion

Sense: noun/1

Shipway, slipway, ways, building berth, and dry dock all relate to ship construction but differ in scope. Shipway refers to the entire sloping structure used for building and launching a vessel. Slipway is its close synonym, though slipway is more common for smaller boats and leisure craft. Ways is a plural-only term used by shipbuilders to mean the two parallel timbers that support the hull before launch — a narrower, more technical meaning. Building berth describes the construction platform itself, without the launch ramp. Dry dock is different: it is a drained basin where ships are repaired, not a launch structure. For example: 'The destroyer was built on the shipway and launched after eighteen months.' versus 'The fishing boat was hauled up the slipway for repairs.'

slipway ↗ways ↗building berthdry dock

Common collocations

Nouns

Phrases

  • on the shipway
  • down the shipway
  • launch from the shipway

Prepositions

Etymology

Old EnglishEnglish

Shipway is a compound of ship (from Old English scip, a vessel for sea travel) and way (from Old English weg, a path or course). The term has been used since the early 1700s in shipbuilding to describe the sloping path that guides a finished ship from the construction platform into the water.

First known use

1812

1812, in the meaning defined above