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A big ship driven by a steam engine. Coal or oil heats water, the steam turns the engine, and the engine turns a wheel or a .
A big ship一艘大船 driven by由...驅動 a steam engine蒸汽引擎。Coal or oil煤或油 heats water把水加熱，the steam蒸汽 turns the engine轉動引擎，and而 the engine引擎 turns轉動 a wheel or a propeller明輪或螺旋槳。
Before these ships, big boats crossed the sea using sails and wind, which meant you left when the wind allowed and arrived whenever you arrived. Steamships changed that: for the first time a ship could keep a .
Before these ships在這種船出現之前，big boats大船 crossed the sea靠帆和風 using sails and wind橫渡海洋，which meant這表示 you left when the wind allowed風允許的時候才出發，and而 arrived whenever you arrived到了才算到。Steamships蒸汽船 changed that改變了這一切：for the first time史上第一次，a ship船 could keep a timetable可以照時刻表行駛。
So the word carries a whole period of history with it — roughly the 1800s up to the middle of the 1900s, ocean crossings, immigrants, mail, the Titanic. That is why you meet the word mostly in history books, museums and old company names, not at a modern harbour.
So所以 the word這個詞 carries帶著 a whole period of history一整段歷史 with it，roughly大約是 the 1800s up to the middle of the 1900s十九世紀到二十世紀中葉，ocean crossings跨洋航行、immigrants移民、mail郵件、the Titanic鐵達尼號。That這 is why就是為什麼 you meet the word你會遇到這個詞 mostly主要 in history books, museums and old company names是在歷史書、博物館和老公司的名字裡，not at a modern harbour而不是在現代的港口。
Today's ships run on diesel engines, and we just say ship. If you hear steamship now, it is usually somebody talking about the past, or a name that stuck: a shipping company founded a hundred years ago may still have Steamship in its title even though it has not burned a lump of coal in decades.
Today's ships現在的船 run on diesel engines都用柴油引擎，and而 we just say ship我們就直接叫它「船」。If you hear steamship now如果你現在聽到steamship這個詞，it通常 is usually somebody talking about the past是有人在講過去的事，or或者 a name that stuck一個沿用下來的名字：a shipping company一家航運公司 founded a hundred years ago一百年前創立的，may still have Steamship in its title名字裡可能還留著Steamship，even though即使 it has not burned a lump of coal in decades它已經幾十年沒燒過一塊煤了。
In writing it is often to SS before a ship's name.
In writing在書面文字裡 it它 is often shortened常常被縮寫 to SS成SS before a ship's name放在船名前面。
組成steam + ship. Two plain everyday words joined together, and the meaning is exactly the sum of them: a ship that runs on steam. English builds a lot of transport words this way.
同家族的字
- steamboatsame steam, but boat — usually a smaller one on a river, like the old boats on the Mississippi
- steam enginethe machine inside a steamship that makes it go
- shipyardshares ship — the place where a ship like this is built
- steampunkshares steam, and borrows the whole feeling of this age of machines
原始詞典資料1 筆記錄
以下是外部詞典記錄的用法，原文照列，我們還沒有寫成教學內容。上面的說明才是我們自己寫的；有些用法可能上面已經講過了。
steamshipnoun/ˈstimˌʃɪp/
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A ship or vessel propelled by steam power.
- Steamship arrivals, however, are less predictable and the best arrangements of shipping companies and the railway operating department may be upset by weather and tide.
- The shipwreck is the earliest examples yet found of a propeller-driven steamship on the Great Lakes.
資料來源：英文維基詞典 English Wiktionary（CC BY-SA 4.0）。 原文照列，未經改寫。