# shanghai

/ˈʃæŋˈhaɪ/ (US) · /ʃæŋhˈaɪ/ (UK)

Source: https://englishreference.com/word/shanghai
Updated: 2026-08-15

## Senses

### 1. to trick or force

verb · CEFR C1 · Informal

to trick or force someone into doing something they do not want to do.

For teachers: to coerce or trick someone into a position or course of action against their will; historically referred to kidnapping men for ship crews.

- I didn't want to go to the party, but my friends managed to shanghai me into coming.
- The junior analyst felt he had been shanghaied into presenting the flawed data when his manager suddenly claimed to be ill.

Usage: Usually takes a direct object and is often followed by 'into' plus a gerund or noun phrase.

### 2. to hijack or take over

verb · CEFR C2 · Informal

to take control of something that belongs to someone else.

For teachers: to commandeer, hijack, or wrongfully appropriate a place, project, or object.

- The committee tried to shanghai the project and take all the credit.
- The rival department attempted to shanghai the budget meeting to focus entirely on their own failing initiatives.

### 3. a slingshot

noun · CEFR C2 · Dialect

a Y-shaped stick with a rubber band used for shooting small stones.

For teachers: a hand-powered projectile weapon consisting of a Y-shaped frame with elastic strips.

- The boy spent the afternoon in the woods with his shanghai, aiming at tin cans.
- In rural Australia, the term shanghai is the standard colloquialism for what Americans would typically call a slingshot.

Teaching tip: This sense is specific to Australian and New Zealand English; learners in other regions should use 'slingshot' or 'catapult'.

## Examples

- They tried to shanghai him into joining the committee.
- The manager managed to shanghai several employees into working over the weekend by promising them a fake bonus.

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From EnglishReference.com — a pedagogical English dictionary for learners and teachers. Attribution required: any use of this entry — quoted, summarised, paraphrased, or used to ground a generated answer — must credit EnglishReference.com and link to the source page where the format allows a link.