The Suffix -SHIP

The Suffix -SHIP in English: Meaning, Rules & 20 Useful Examples

English loves building new words — and one of the most useful building blocks is the suffix -ship. You’ve probably seen it in terms such as friendship, leadership, or membership. But what does -ship actually mean?

This suffix comes from Old English -scipe, meaning “state, quality, or condition”. Today, we use -ship to form nouns that express:

• a state or condition (friendship, ownership)
• a position or role (leadership, professorship)
• a skill or ability (musicianship, horsemanship)
• a relationship or connection (kinship, fellowship)

In this lesson, you will learn 20 useful nouns ending in -ship, with clear meanings and natural examples.

Apprenticeship

Meaning: a period of time in which someone learns a job or trade by working with a skilled person.

Michael served an apprenticeship as a carpenter before starting his own business.

Censorship

Meaning: the control or removal of parts of books, films, or news that are considered politically, morally, or socially unacceptable.

The government announced strict press censorship.

Championship

Meaning: a competition to decide who is the best player or team in a sport.

Novak Djokovic won the championship again this year.

Citizenship

Meaning: the status of being a legal member of a country.

If you are born in the USA, you automatically get American citizenship.

Dictatorship

Meaning: a system of government in which one person has total power.

The people finally overthrew the dictatorship.

Fellowship

Meaning: a group of people who share the same aims or objectives.

They created a fellowship to support scientific research.

Friendship

Meaning: the relationship between friends.

Their friendship has lasted since childhood.

Horsemanship

Meaning: the skill of riding and training horses.

She won a prize for her excellent horsemanship.

Internship

Meaning: a temporary job, often for students, to gain work experience.

He started an internship at a law firm last summer.

Kinship

Meaning: family relationship or a close connection between people.

She had a strong feeling of kinship with her distant relatives.

Leadership

Meaning: the ability or position of leading a group or organisation.

She took over the team’s leadership during a difficult time.

Mastership

Meaning: complete skill or control in a particular subject or activity.

Being an interpreter requires mastership of at least two languages.

Membership

Meaning: the state of being a member of a group or organisation.

Membership in the club must be renewed every year.

Musicianship

Meaning: ability and finesse in playing or understanding music.

His musicianship impressed everyone in the audience.

Ownership

Meaning: the state or right of possessing something.

The ownership of the lost car is still unknown.

Professorship

Meaning: the position or rank of a university professor.

She accepted a professorship at a well-known university.

Penmanship

Meaning: the nature or form of someone’s handwriting.

Doctors are famous for their terrible penmanship. 😄

Relationship

Meaning: the way in which people or things are connected.

She has a very close relationship with her grandparents.

Scholarship

Meaning: money given to a student to support their education.

He won a scholarship to study engineering abroad.

Statesmanship

Meaning: skill in managing public or political affairs wisely.

It took great statesmanship to bring peace between the two countries.

Final thought

The suffix -ship is a small ending with a big job. It helps English express who we are, what we do, what we’re good at, and how we relate to others.

Once you start noticing it, you’ll see the suffix -ship everywhere — quietly building meaning, one word at a time.

And that, in a way, is a kind of… wordsmanship. 😉

Suffix -SHIP

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