shipshape
/ˈʃɪpʃeɪp/
"shipshape" is a 9-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“shipshape” is uncommon English (outside the top frequency list), classed as an adjective. The kind of spelling people second-guess.
- Unranked
- below top-frequency English
- 9
- letters
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - Meticulously neat and tidy.
Corpus desk
Index EN-shipshape · shipshape · English
shipshape · unranked · 0 variants · 0 confusables
- FREQ-UNRANKED Unranked
- LEN-LONG 9 letters
- VOW-3 3 vowels
- CONFUS-0 No pairs
- VAR-0 0 variants
- BOOK-THIN "S" thin
- PHOTO-UNK Peer pending
Read with this headword: Spelling guide for this pattern
Desk codes from Wiktionary headword shape, FrequencyWords rank tier, confusable-pair count, generated misspelling depth, letter-cohort book size, and photo-finish peer. Not a difficulty grade.
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Headword | shipshape |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Adjective |
| IPA | /ˈʃɪpʃeɪp/ |
| Letters | 9 |
| Misspellings tracked | 0 |
| Confusable pairs | 0 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Where “shipshape” sits in English frequency
Rare enough to double-check
shipshape is uncommon English outside the top frequency list, classed as anadjective, transcribed /ˈʃɪpʃeɪp/. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. Gloss: "Meticulously neat and tidy.".
Our edit-distance generator produced no likely misspellings for shipshape, since its letter sequence doesn't invite the usual edit-distance slips. No close-neighbour confusable shows up for this headword in our dataset, which usually means its spelling is distinct enough that readers don't reach for a similar-looking word instead.
Etymologically, the entry records: 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 … The correct English form is shipshape, spelled S-H-I-P-S-H-A-P-E.
Definition
- 1Meticulously neat and tidy.
Recorded use
Wiktionary examplesThese source excerpts show how shipshape appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.
SHIP-shape, in a seaman-like manner; as "That mast is not rigged ship-shape;" "Put her about ship-shape," &c.
[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; [...]
Etymology
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.
This word in other languages
Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.
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Data Source
Wiktionary (via kaikki.org), licensed under CC BY-SA & GFDL. Word ordering uses an open word-frequency list; misspelling variants are generated by edit-distance from the correct headword.