abandon ship

verb

To leave or forsake a ship due to its impending doom.

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Meanings

verbabandon ship (third-person singular simple present abandons ship, present participle abandoning ship, simple past and past participle abandoned ship)

present singular third person abandons ship · participle present abandoning ship · participle past abandoned ship · past abandoned ship

  1. literalnauticalTo leave or forsake a ship due to its impending doom.
    1 more example

    However, an 8-inch shell takes out what's left of Hoel's engines, and the ship is rapidly overwhelmed by incoming fire. The order to abandon ship is given ten minutes later after trading fire with a Tone-class cruiser, and, fifteen minutes after that, the ship rolls over and sinks, Hoel clearly not showing quite the same level of luck as Johnston.

    2019 February 27, Drachinifel, 28:44 from the start, in The Battle of Samar - Odds? What are those?, archived from the original on 03 Nov 2022
  2. broadlyTo leave a person or organization when things become difficult.

Translations

Finnish jättää laiva, jättää alus
  • jättää laivato leave or forsake a ship due to its impending doom
  • jättää alusto leave or forsake a ship due to its impending doom
  • hylätä laivato leave or forsake a ship due to its impending doom
  • hylätä alusto leave or forsake a ship due to its impending doom
  • jättää oman onnensa nojaanto leave a person or organization when things become difficult
French quitter le navire, quitter le navire
  • quitter le navireto leave or forsake a ship due to its impending doom
  • quitter le navireto leave a person or organization when things become difficult
Hindi पोत छोड़ देना, पोत छोड़ना
  • पोत छोड़ देना (pot choṛ denā)to leave or forsake a ship due to its impending doom
  • पोत छोड़ना (pot choṛnā)to leave or forsake a ship due to its impending doom
  • पोत त्यागना (pot tyāgnā)to leave or forsake a ship due to its impending doom
Japanese 船を捨てる
  • 船を捨てる (fune o suteru)to leave or forsake a ship due to its impending doom
Korean 배를 버리다
  • 배를 버리다 (baereul beorida)to leave or forsake a ship due to its impending doom
Polish dezertować
  • dezertowaćto leave a person or organization when things become difficult
Portuguese abandonar o navio
  • abandonar o navioto leave or forsake a ship due to its impending doom
Russian отка́зываться от корабля́, оставля́ть кора́бль
  • отка́зываться от корабля́ (otkázyvatʹsja ot korabljá)to leave or forsake a ship due to its impending doom
  • оставля́ть кора́бль (ostavljátʹ koráblʹ)to leave or forsake a ship due to its impending doom
  • броса́ть кора́бль (brosátʹ koráblʹ)to leave or forsake a ship due to its impending doom
  • покида́ть кора́бль (pokidátʹ koráblʹ)to leave or forsake a ship due to its impending doom
Spanish abandonar el barco
  • abandonar el barcoto leave or forsake a ship due to its impending doom
Turkish gemiyi terk etmek
  • gemiyi terk etmekto leave or forsake a ship due to its impending doom
Cite this entry
APA

abandon ship. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 4, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/abandon%20ship

MLA

“abandon ship.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/abandon%20ship. Accessed November 4, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “abandon ship,” accessed November 4, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/abandon%20ship.

Source: abandon ship on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.