disembark
to leave a ship, plane or train
TRANSLATION
disembark = aussteigen, von Bord gehen disembark = ein Schiff, Flugzeug oder Zug verlassen --- GOOGLE INDEX disembark: approximately 600,000 Google hits
STATISTICS
IN THE PRESS
Rescued migrants DISEMBARK from cruise ship in Cyprus
(Deutsche Welle article headline)
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The Flying Nanny service, which begins at the boarding gate and continues until the families have safely DISEMBARKED, is free of charge on long-haul flights.
(The Daily Mail)
(Deutsche Welle article headline)
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The Flying Nanny service, which begins at the boarding gate and continues until the families have safely DISEMBARKED, is free of charge on long-haul flights.
(The Daily Mail)
Did you
know?
disembark
verb
- leave a ship, aircraft, or train
(Oxford Dictionary)
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Disembark, the opposite of embark, is from the French desembarquer (des = dis + embarque = embark). The French embarque derives from "em" (into) plus "barque" (a small ship). Embark thus means to board a ship, aircraft or train while disembark is just the opposite.
This raises the question, why does English require a separate verb for ships, planes and trains? After all, we simply "get in" a car. It's because ships, planes and trains are not that simple to "get into or on." There is usually a transition of some sort, such as a ramp or a jet way, that makes the boarding more like a process than a simple act.
Prepositions are always a challenge for non-native speakers anyway, so embark/disembark is an alternative if you can't remember if one gets "in" or "on" a plane, train or ship.
In any case, below is a summary of how to use prepositions in these situations. And take note of the very useful verb "get".
- airplanes, trains, ships = get on/off (We got on the plane at the last minute. I have to get off the train at the next stop)
- cars, vans, lorries = get in/out of (Please get in the car so we can leave. The policeman told him to get out of his car.)
- bicycles, motorcycles = get on/off (He got on his bicycle and left in a hurry. He stopped and got off his motorcycle to answer his mobile phone.)
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SYNONYMS
alight, go ashore, get off, leave
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SMUGGLE OWAD into today's conversation
"We disembarked in Barcelona and spent the day walking around the city."
verb
- leave a ship, aircraft, or train
(Oxford Dictionary)
---
Disembark, the opposite of embark, is from the French desembarquer (des = dis + embarque = embark). The French embarque derives from "em" (into) plus "barque" (a small ship). Embark thus means to board a ship, aircraft or train while disembark is just the opposite.
This raises the question, why does English require a separate verb for ships, planes and trains? After all, we simply "get in" a car. It's because ships, planes and trains are not that simple to "get into or on." There is usually a transition of some sort, such as a ramp or a jet way, that makes the boarding more like a process than a simple act.
Prepositions are always a challenge for non-native speakers anyway, so embark/disembark is an alternative if you can't remember if one gets "in" or "on" a plane, train or ship.
In any case, below is a summary of how to use prepositions in these situations. And take note of the very useful verb "get".
- airplanes, trains, ships = get on/off (We got on the plane at the last minute. I have to get off the train at the next stop)
- cars, vans, lorries = get in/out of (Please get in the car so we can leave. The policeman told him to get out of his car.)
- bicycles, motorcycles = get on/off (He got on his bicycle and left in a hurry. He stopped and got off his motorcycle to answer his mobile phone.)
---
SYNONYMS
alight, go ashore, get off, leave
---
SMUGGLE OWAD into today's conversation
"We disembarked in Barcelona and spent the day walking around the city."
