name · noun · verb · 16 senses · updated from the 2026-07-25 local source snapshot
Definitions and examples are grouped by meaning. Pronunciation, history, word forms, translations, descendants, synonyms, antonyms, derived terms, and related words appear whenever the source provides them.
Sound
Pronunciation
Each Play button uses your device's default local English voice, or a natural local fallback. The selected voice name appears after playback. This is synthesized speech, not a source recording.
Received-Pronunciation:/ʃæŋˈhaɪ/
Received-Pronunciation:/ˈʃæŋ.haɪ/
Southern-England:Recorded audio is listed in the source snapshot.
Southern-England:Recorded audio is listed in the source snapshot.
General-American:/ˈʃɛŋˈhaɪ/
General-American:/ʃaŋˈhaɪ/
General-American:shăng′hī′
US:Recorded audio is listed in the source snapshot.
Australian:/ʃæŋˈhɑe/
Australian:/ˈʃæŋ.hɑe/
Australian:[ˈʃeːŋ.hɑe̯]/æ/ raising
QueenslandRecorded audio is listed in the source snapshot.
rhymes with -aɪ
General-American:/ˈʃæŋ.haɪ/
General-American:/ʃæŋˈhaɪ/
General-American:/ʃɑŋˈhaɪ/
Australia:Recorded audio is listed in the source snapshot.
CMU ARPABET:SH AE1 NG HH AY1
Digits mark lexical stress: 1 primary, 2 secondary, 0 unstressed.
1
name
Meaning 1
A major port city and direct-administered municipality of China, the largest urban area in China.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
2
name
Meaning 2
A major international port including the eastern coast of Shanghai Municipality and the northeastern islands of Zhejiang Province.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
3
noun
Meaning 3
A breed of chicken with large bodies, long legs, and feathered shanks.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
Usage: capitalized, dated, often
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
4
noun
Meaning 4
A kind of daub.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
Usage: US, obsolete
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
5
noun
Meaning 5
A tall dandy.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
Usage: US, obsolete
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
6
noun
Meaning 6
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.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
Usage: capitalized, often
Topics: darts, games
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
7
noun
Meaning 7
Synonym of slingshot.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
Usage: Australia, New-Zealand
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: slingshot
Antonyms: none provided
8
noun
Meaning 8
Alternative letter-case form of shanghai in its various senses derived from the Chinese city.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
Usage: alt-of
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
9
verb
Meaning 9
To force or trick someone to go somewhere or do something against their will or interest, particularly
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
Usage: transitive
Examples
1974 September 30, ‘Final Report on the Activities of the Children of God', Oftentimes the approach is to shanghai an unsuspecting victim.
1999 June 24, ‘The Resurrection of Tom Waits’, in Rolling Stone, quoted in Innocent When You Dream, Orion (2006), page 256, It was the strangest galley: the sounds, the steam, he's screaming at his coworkers. I felt like I'd been shanghaied.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
10
verb
Meaning 10
To force or trick someone to go somewhere or do something against their will or interest
To press-gang sailors, especially (historical) for shipping or fishing work.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
Usage: transitive
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
11
verb
Meaning 11
To force or trick someone to go somewhere or do something against their will or interest
To trick a suspect into entering a jurisdiction in which they can be lawfully arrested.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
Usage: US, slang, transitive
Topics: government, law-enforcement
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
12
verb
Meaning 12
To force or trick someone to go somewhere or do something against their will or interest
To transfer a serviceman against their will.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
Usage: US, slang, transitive
Topics: government, military, politics, war
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
13
verb
Meaning 13
To commandeer, hijack, or otherwise (usually wrongfully) appropriate a place or thing.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
Usage: transitive
Examples
Let's see if we can shanghai a room for a couple of hours.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
14
verb
Meaning 14
To hit with a slingshot.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
Usage: Australia, New-Zealand
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
15
noun
Meaning 15
the largest city of China; located in the east on the Pacific; one of the largest ports in the world
Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
Broader terms: city, metropolis, urban center, port
16
verb
Meaning 16
take (someone) against his will for compulsory service, especially on board a ship
Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0
Examples
The men were shanghaied after being drugged
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: impress
Antonyms: none provided
Broader terms: kidnap, nobble, abduct, snatch
History
Etymology
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.
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 Scottish shangan, from Scottish Gaelic seangan, influenced by the Chinese city.
Across languages
Translations
78 source translations are retained for this English entry.
Arabic:
شَانْغْهَاي
(šānḡhāy)
— Chinese municipality and port
Arabic:
شَانْغْخَاي
(šānḡḵāy)
— Chinese municipality and port
Arabic:
شانقهاي
(šānghāy)
— Chinese municipality and port
Armenian:
Շանհայ
(Šanhay)
— Chinese municipality and port
Belarusian:
Шанха́й
(Šanxáj)
— Chinese municipality and port
Bulgarian:
Шанха́й
(Šanháj)
— Chinese municipality and port
Burmese:
ရှန်ဟိုင်း
(hranhuing:)
— Chinese municipality and port
Catalan:
Xangai
— Chinese municipality and port
Cherokee:
ᏎᏂᎦᎭᏱ
(senigahayi)
— Chinese municipality and port
Chinese Cantonese:
上海
(soeng6 hoi2)
— Chinese municipality and port
Chinese:
上海
(Siōng-hái)
— Chinese municipality and port
Chinese Mandarin:
上海
(Shànghǎi)
— Chinese municipality and port
Chinese Mandarin:
滬 /沪
(abbr.)
— Chinese municipality and port
Chinese Mandarin:
申
(Shēn)
— Chinese municipality and port
Chinese Mandarin:
申城
(Shēnchéng)
— Chinese municipality and port
Wu Chinese:
上海
— Chinese municipality and port
Czech:
Šanghaj
— Chinese municipality and port
Dutch:
Sjanghai
— Chinese municipality and port
Esperanto:
Ŝanhajo
— Chinese municipality and port
Finnish:
Shanghai
— Chinese municipality and port
French:
Shanghaï
— Chinese municipality and port
Georgian:
შანჰაი
(šanhai)
— Chinese municipality and port
German:
Schanghai
— Chinese municipality and port
Greek:
Σανγκάη
(Sangkái)
— Chinese municipality and port
Hebrew:
שַׁאנְגחָאי
(shang-khái)
— Chinese municipality and port
Hindi:
शंघाई
(śaṅghāī)
— Chinese municipality and port
Hungarian:
Sanghaj
— Chinese municipality and port
Icelandic:
Sjanghæ
— Chinese municipality and port
Ido:
Shanghai
— Chinese municipality and port
Irish:
Shang-hai
— Chinese municipality and port
Italian:
Shanghai
— Chinese municipality and port
Japanese:
上海
(Shanhai)
— Chinese municipality and port
Japanese:
シャンハイ
(Shanhai)
— Chinese municipality and port
Korean:
상하이
(Sanghai)
— Chinese municipality and port
Korean:
상해
(Sanghae)
— Chinese municipality and port
Latin:
Sciamhaevum
— Chinese municipality and port
Latin:
Sanghaevum
— Chinese municipality and port
Latin:
Siamhaevum
— Chinese municipality and port
Latin:
Schianghai
— Chinese municipality and port
Latvian:
Šanhaja
— Chinese municipality and port
Lithuanian:
Šanchajus
— Chinese municipality and port
Lü:
ᦉᦱᧂᧈᦆᦻ
(ṡaang1xaay)
— Chinese municipality and port
Macedonian:
Ша́нгај
(Šángaj)
— Chinese municipality and port
Manchu:
ᡧᠠᠩ ᡥᠠᡳ
(šang hai)
— Chinese municipality and port
Occitan:
Shanghai
— Chinese municipality and port
Occitan:
Shangai
— Chinese municipality and port
Persian:
شانگهای
(šânghâi)
— Chinese municipality and port
Polish:
Szanghaj
— Chinese municipality and port
Portuguese:
Xangai
— Chinese municipality and port
Russian:
Шанха́й
(Šanxáj)
— Chinese municipality and port
Serbo-Croatian:
Ша̀нгај
— Chinese municipality and port
Slovak:
Šanghaj
— Chinese municipality and port
Slovene:
Šanghaj
— Chinese municipality and port
Spanish:
Shanghái
— Chinese municipality and port
Tamil:
சாங்காய்
(cāṅkāy)
— Chinese municipality and port
Telugu:
షాంఘై
(ṣāṅghai)
— Chinese municipality and port
Thai:
เซี่ยงไฮ้
(sîiang-hái)
— Chinese municipality and port
Turkish:
Şanghay
— Chinese municipality and port
Ukrainian:
Шанха́й
(Šanxáj)
— Chinese municipality and port
Urdu:
شنگھائی
(śanghāī)
— Chinese municipality and port
Uyghur:
شاڭخەي
(shangxey)
— Chinese municipality and port
Vietnamese:
Thượng Hải
— Chinese municipality and port
Xibe:
ᡧᠠᡢ ᡥᠠᡞ
(šang hai)
— Chinese municipality and port
Xibe:
Šàngaj
— Chinese municipality and port
Yiddish:
שאַנכײַ
(shankhay)
— Chinese municipality and port
Zhuang:
Sanghaij
— Chinese municipality and port
Chinese Mandarin:
強迫 /强迫
— to force or trick into work, especially joining a ship
Chinese Mandarin:
誘騙 /诱骗
(yòupiàn)
— to force or trick into work, especially joining a ship
Danish:
shanghaje
— to force or trick into work, especially joining a ship
Dutch:
sjanghaaien
— to force or trick into work, especially joining a ship
Finnish:
shanghaijata
— to force or trick into work, especially joining a ship
French:
shangaïer
— to force or trick into work, especially joining a ship
German:
schanghaien
— to force or trick into work, especially joining a ship
Hungarian:
elrabol
— to force or trick into work, especially joining a ship
Irish:
shanghai-áil
— to force or trick into work, especially joining a ship
Italian:
arruolare a forza
— to force or trick into work, especially joining a ship
Spanish:
emborrachar
— to force or trick into work, especially joining a ship
Swedish:
sjanghaja
— to force or trick into work, especially joining a ship
