To improve and correct your behavior and performance or else get out or leave

Etymology:

  • It is a phrase of World War II in America when armed forces first used this command. It suggested that the sailors, soldiers or marine are warned to adapt according to the rules and regulations or rightfully perform their tasks they are supposed to, if they are to stay in the field otherwise they would be expelled or sent to back zone. Later the phrase was expanded to include all areas in which improvement and performances were demanded.
75 Views

The chief asked the lame employee to shape up or ship out for the betterment of the company.

Submitted on February 25, 2019

Additional definitions for 'Shape Up or Ship Out':

shape up or ship outTo either improve one's behavior or else be required to leave; to either improve one's performance in an activity or else withdraw from that activity completely.
See them all »

Translation

Find a translation for the Shape Up or Ship Out phrase in other languages:

Select another language:

  • - Select -
  • 简体中文 (Chinese - Simplified)
  • 繁體中文 (Chinese - Traditional)
  • Español (Spanish)
  • Esperanto (Esperanto)
  • 日本語 (Japanese)
  • Português (Portuguese)
  • Deutsch (German)
  • العربية (Arabic)
  • Français (French)
  • Русский (Russian)
  • ಕನ್ನಡ (Kannada)
  • 한국어 (Korean)
  • עברית (Hebrew)
  • Gaeilge (Irish)
  • Українська (Ukrainian)
  • اردو (Urdu)
  • Magyar (Hungarian)
  • मानक हिन्दी (Hindi)
  • Indonesia (Indonesian)
  • Italiano (Italian)
  • தமிழ் (Tamil)
  • Türkçe (Turkish)
  • తెలుగు (Telugu)
  • ภาษาไทย (Thai)
  • Tiếng Việt (Vietnamese)
  • Čeština (Czech)
  • Polski (Polish)
  • Bahasa Indonesia (Indonesian)
  • Românește (Romanian)
  • Nederlands (Dutch)
  • Ελληνικά (Greek)
  • Latinum (Latin)
  • Svenska (Swedish)
  • Dansk (Danish)
  • Suomi (Finnish)
  • فارسی (Persian)
  • ייִדיש (Yiddish)
  • հայերեն (Armenian)
  • Norsk (Norwegian)
  • English (English)

Nearby phrases

Some more phrases from our dictionary similar to Shape Up or Ship Out

How to pronounce this phrase?

Discuss this Shape Up or Ship Out phrase with the community:

0 Comments

    Citation

    Use the citation below to add this Shape Up or Ship Out definition to your bibliography:

    Style:MLAChicagoAPA

    "Shape Up or Ship Out." Phrases.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 26 Dec. 2024. <https://www.phrases.com/phrase/shape-up-or-ship-out_45016>.

    We need you!

    Help us build the largest human-edited phrases collection on the web!

    Quiz

    Are you a phrases master?

    »
    She was on the ______ stretch.
    A home
    B final
    C remote
    D end