Shanghai (Verb)
Meaning
Take (someone) against his will for compulsory service, especially on board a ship; "The men were shanghaied after being drugged".
Classification
Verbs of touching, hitting, tying, digging.
Examples
- The sailors were shanghaied by the ruthless sea captain after a night of heavy drinking at the port tavern.
- She accused the merchant of trying to shanghai her into a lifetime contract on his cargo ship.
- After being offered a spiked drink, he woke up the next morning to find himself shanghaied on a ship bound for a foreign land.
- Rumors spread that the notorious pirate captain would shanghai any unsuspecting traveler who wandered too close to his hideout.
- The group of young men were shanghaied and forced to work on the ship for months before they could send out a distress signal.