Meanings
ship of Theseus1
- A thought experiment that raises the question of whether an object that has had all of its components replaced (specifically, a ship whose parts have all been replaced) remains fundamentally the same object.
“I am infamously good at holding grudges, but Meta has changed a lot over the past 8 years,” Mr. [Palmer] Luckey wrote back. “At some point, the Ship of Theseus has sailed.”
2026 March 2, Sheera Frenkel, Cade Metz, quoting Palmer Luckey, “The Pentagon’s Favorite Tech Guy Is This Hawaiian Shirt-Wearing Founder”, in The New York Times, →ISSN, archived from the original on 03 Mar 20261 more example
Kira Roessler, Black Flag’s bassist from 1983 to ’85 (and the only female member of the band until this new lineup), isn’t quite sure if a band built over and over like a musical Ship of Theseus is in the spirit of punk.
2025 November 19, Nate Rogers, “Black Flag’s Latest Reboot Has Everyone Talking (Even Greg Ginn)”, in The New York Times, →ISSN, archived from the original on 25 Nov 2025Synonyms: Theseus's paradox, Trigger's broom
Ship of Theseus2
- Alternative letter-case form of ship of Theseus.
Synonyms & antonyms
proper nounA thought experiment that raises the question of whether an object that has had all of its components replaced (specifically, a ship whose parts have all been replaced) remains fundamentally the same object.
Cite this entry
ship of Theseus. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 4, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/ship%20of%20Theseus
“ship of Theseus.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/ship%20of%20Theseus. Accessed November 4, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “ship of Theseus,” accessed November 4, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/ship%20of%20Theseus.
Source: ship of Theseus on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.