Jump ship means leaving a company, team or project, usually for a better offer and often for a competitor. The ship doesn't have to be sinking: people jump ship from successful firms too. It sounds slightly disapproving, as if the person abandoned their own side.
When would you say jump ship?
Write a sentence — we'll check that the expression fits the situation and suggest what to fix.
The check is taking longer than usual. Your feedback will appear here automatically.
jump ship; jump ship to join another company; staff who jumped ship
- Several designers jumped ship when a rival studio offered them more creative freedom.
- She considered jumping ship but decided to stay until the project was finished.
- The firm changed its working hours to discourage experienced staff from jumping ship.
What changed
First versionTwo engineers jumped the ship to join a competitor.
RevisionTwo engineers jumped ship to join a competitor.
A ship is one specific thing, so the seems necessary: jumped the ship. But the idiom is frozen without an article: jump ship, jumped ship. Removing the turns it back into the fixed expression.
Leave a company is neutral. Jump ship means leaving suddenly, with a hint of betrayal, often for a rival: Half the team jumped ship to a rival. Like rats leaving a sinking ship is harsher: people run because the business is failing.
Your turn
Complete the workplace idiom: After receiving a better offer, he decided to ___.
Show the answer
jump ship — The idiom is jump ship, with no article. Jump the ship is a common mistake made by wanting an article before ship.
Write about an employee who left for a competitor and what tempted them to go.
Two editors jumped ship to a smaller publisher where they could choose more of the titles themselves.
Learn to use new words without mistakes
Write phrases with the words you are learning. LetsWords shows mistakes in usage and grammar, suggests corrections and explains them, and review helps the words stick.