stowaways
Unpaying ship riders
Stowaways are people who hide aboard ships, planes, or other vehicles to travel without paying or being detected.
The term suggests desperation—refugees in cargo holds, runaways in wheel wells.
A stowaway risks discovery and the dangers of the journey itself: Stowaways were found in a shipping container.
Figuratively, anything that sneaks along unnoticed: The virus was a stowaway in the software update.
Kept out of sight
- smuggledMoved goods illegally
- undetectedNot discovered yet
- concealedMade invisible deliberately
- compartmentEnclosed subdivision of space
hideaway · cargo hold · container · crate · false bottom · luggage · trunk · bilge
Remaining alive against odds
- escapeFlight from captivity
- povertySevere lack of resources
- hopelessnessState without hope
- refugeesPeople seeking safety elsewhere
asylum · fleeing · persecution · hunger · risk · fear · trapped · vulnerable
Fatal lack of air
- hypothermiaDangerously low body temperature
- dehydrationExcessive fluid loss
- starvationExtreme nutritional deprivation
- crushingOverwhelming in intensity
exposure · detection · death · treacherous · perilous · fatal · survival odds · wheel well
Not officially recorded
- unauthorizedNot officially permitted
- trespassingUnauthorized presence on property
- clandestineConcealed from authorities
- deportationLegal expulsion from country
smuggling · harboring · prosecution · detained · arrested · fugitive · border · customs
Seagoing transport vessel
- cargo vesselShip for transporting goods
- freighterVessel for transporting goods
- container shipVessel carrying standardized freight boxes
- aircraftAirborne transportation vehicle
wheel well · train · railcar · truck · trailer · ferry · cruise ship · tanker
hidden
Kept out of sight
- smuggledMoved goods illegally
- undetectedNot discovered yet
- concealedMade invisible deliberately
compartment · hideaway · cargo hold · container · crate · false bottom · luggage · trunk · bilge · hull
survival
Remaining alive against odds
- escapeFlight from captivity
- povertySevere lack of resources
- hopelessnessState without hope
refugees · asylum · fleeing · persecution · hunger · risk · fear · trapped · vulnerable · homeless
suffocation
Fatal lack of air
- hypothermiaDangerously low body temperature
- dehydrationExcessive fluid loss
- starvationExtreme nutritional deprivation
crushing · exposure · detection · death · treacherous · perilous · fatal · survival odds · wheel well · freezing
undocumented
Not officially recorded
- unauthorizedNot officially permitted
- trespassingUnauthorized presence on property
- clandestineConcealed from authorities
deportation · smuggling · harboring · prosecution · detained · arrested · fugitive · border · customs · immigration
ship
Seagoing transport vessel
- cargo vesselShip for transporting goods
- freighterVessel for transporting goods
- container shipVessel carrying standardized freight boxes
aircraft · wheel well · train · railcar · truck · trailer · ferry · cruise ship · tanker · transit
- sea talespirate story, sea stories, sea story, mermaid tale, ghost ships
- seafolkseafarers, seamen, sailors, mariners, boaters
- maritime crimespiracy, ship hijacking, mutiny, pirate attack, hijacking
- nautical termsahoy, afloat, aye aye, aye-aye, becalmed
- migrantsmigrants, arctic tern, monarch butterfly, caribou, humpback whale
- shippingshipping, cargo ships, container ships, freight, package
stowawaysship's crew
Sailors aboard a vessel
sailors · officers · captain · flight crew · deckhands