shanghai

verb

shang·​hai ˈshaŋ-ˌhī  shaŋ-ˈhī 

shanghaied; shanghaiing

transitive verb

1

a

: to put aboard a ship by force often with the help of liquor or a drug

b

: to put by force or threat of force into or as if into a place of detention

2

: to put by trickery into an undesirable position

shanghaier

shaŋ-ˈhī(-ə)r 

ˈshaŋ-ˌhī-

noun

Examples of shanghai in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

They’re shanghaied by Witchiepoo (Billie Hayes), basically evil but also adorable, to Living Island — the witch wants Freddy — where trees walk and objects talk and the mayor is the title character, a friendly dragon. —Robert Lloyd, Los Angeles Times, 27 Nov. 2023

Some historians believe, as The Oregonian/OregonLive has reported, that the tunnels weren’t actually used to shanghai -- that is, abduct men and force them to join a ship’s crew. —oregonlive, 26 Mar. 2020

The musical comedy is filled with zany pirates, zombie ships, mermaids and the plot revolves around a bumbling actor and his crew getting shanghaied by the terror of the high seas. —Linda McIntosh, San Diego Union-Tribune, 10 July 2019

To shanghai your wife into a mental health intervention would be a mistake. —Y Jeanne Phillips, San Francisco Chronicle, 5 Feb. 2018

That prompts the secretly protective Madea to shanghai Joe and the equally outrageous old-timers Hattie (Patrice Lovely) and Bam (Cassi Davis) for a trip to the lake to bring Tiffany back. —Mike Scott, NOLA.com, 20 Oct. 2017

The ways in which our attention gets shanghaied by these companies makes us less good as citizens. —Isaac Chotiner, Slate Magazine, 5 Oct. 2017

The idea of a summertime art festival has been shanghaied by the nonprofit Art Shanty Project. —Bob Shaw, Twin Cities, 6 Jan. 2017

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Word History

Etymology

Shanghai, China; from the former use of this method to secure sailors for voyages to eastern Asia

First Known Use

1871, in the meaning defined at sense 1a

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Kids Definition

shanghai

verb

shang·​hai shaŋ-ˈhī 

shanghaied; shanghaiing

1

: to put aboard a ship by force often with the help of liquor or a drug

2

: to put by threat or force into or as if into a place of detention

3

: to put by trickery into an undesirable position

Etymology

from Shanghai, a major seaport in China; so called because this method was formerly sometimes used to get sailors for ships sailing to eastern Asia

Geographical Definition

Shanghai

geographical name

Shang·​hai shaŋ-ˈhī 

city and port on the Huangpu River near the estuary of the Chang (Yangtze) River in eastern China population 21,126,600

Note: Shanghai is China's most populous city.