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Added 29 September 2026

shanghai

/ˈʃæŋ.haɪ/ verb

Categories: ActionsUncommon Words

verb Definition from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA). Pronunciation from Wiktionary, via Kaikki.org. More about shanghai at Wordnik → Where our words come from →

  1. To force or trick someone to go somewhere or do something against their will or interest, particularly: To press-gang sailors, especially for shipping or fishing work. To trick a suspect into entering a jurisdiction in which they can be lawfully arrested. To transfer a serviceman against their will.
  2. To press-gang sailors, especially for shipping or fishing work.
  3. To trick a suspect into entering a jurisdiction in which they can be lawfully arrested.

noun

  1. A breed of chicken with large bodies, long legs, and feathered shanks.
  2. A kind of daub.
  3. A tall dandy.

noun

  1. Synonym of slingshot.

verb

  1. To hit with a slingshot.

Origin

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.

From Wiktionary, via Kaikki.org (CC BY-SA)

Related Words: impresscitymunicipalitystraitseanankingchineseshanghainesechinakongnanjingbeijing

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