To call a junior sailor over to where your standing or sitting with the intent of jacking him/her up (yelling at him/her) for a minor offense. The person [shipmating] must use a come here motion with their hand by opening and closing it in rapid succession. [Shipmating] is normally done only by senior enlisted ([Chief Petty Officer]) sailors.
One can [shipmate] multiple people/things at a time by holding up both arms and possibly a leg.
The shipmate may actually be anyone or anything. Drunk [Chiefs] have been known to shipmate signs, coffee cups, beer bottles, or prostitutes.
Background: In the U.S. Navy the term shipmate is seen as mostly derogatory in nature. Normally one is only called shipmate when they are in trouble or have done something wrong. The term shipmating was coined to describe the act when a Chief jacks up a sailor by calling him shipmate and motioning for him to present himself by the come here motion with his hand.

]]>https://definedictionarymeaning.com/topic/106123/shipmatingRSS for NodeFri, 26 Jun 2026 10:09:33 GMTTue, 07 May 2019 06:00:18 GMT60