berth
Americannoun
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berths
plural
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a shelflike sleeping space, as on a ship, airplane, or railroad car.
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Nautical.
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the space allotted to a vessel at anchor or at a wharf.
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the distance maintained between a vessel and the shore, another vessel, or any object.
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the position or rank of a ship's officer.
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the cabin of a ship's officer.
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a job; position.
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a place, listing, or role.
She clinched a berth on our tennis team.
verb (used with object)
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berths,
present (3rd person singular)
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berthed,
past participle, past
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berthing
present participle
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Nautical.
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to allot to (a vessel) a certain space at which to anchor or tie up.
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to bring to or install in a berth, anchorage, or moorage.
The captain had to berth the ship without the aid of tugboats.
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to provide with a sleeping space, as on a train.
verb (used without object)
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berths,
present (3rd person singular)
-
berthed,
past participle, past
-
berthing
present participle
idioms
noun
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a bed or bunk in a vessel or train, usually narrow and fixed to a wall
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nautical a place assigned to a ship at a mooring
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nautical sufficient distance from the shore or from other ships or objects for a ship to manoeuvre
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to keep clear of; avoid
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nautical accommodation on a ship
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informal a job, esp as a member of a ship's crew
verb
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(tr) nautical to assign a berth to (a vessel)
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nautical to dock (a vessel)
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(tr) to provide with a sleeping place, as on a vessel or train
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(intr) nautical to pick up a mooring in an anchorage
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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berthsimple
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berthssimple
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have berthedperfect
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has berthedperfect
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am berthingprogressive
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are berthingprogressive
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is berthingprogressive
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have been berthingperfect progressive
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has been berthingperfect progressive
Past
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berthedsimple
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had berthedperfect
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was berthingprogressive
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were berthingprogressive
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had been berthingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of berth
First recorded in 1615–25; probably equivalent to bear 1 + -th 1
Explanation
A berth is a bed, usually stacked like bunk beds, on a train or a ship. If you're on an overnight train, you may want to spring for a berth instead of sitting up all night. You may have heard the phrase "to give someone a wide berth" — that means to give them plenty of space. But if you want to use berth as a verb, you better be talking about parking a boat: to berth means to moor or dock a ship. The parking spot itself also happens to be called a berth. So if there's a big storm brewing, you best be sure to berth your boat securely in its berth.
Vocabulary lists containing berth
"The Odyssey" by Homer, Books 14–18
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The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn
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Less Common Five-letter Words for Wordle
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
Knightsbridge wins the Pacific Classic at Del Mar, holding off Original Sin and Full Serrano to earn an automatic berth in the Breeders’ Cup.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 28, 2026
Native Americans more or less cohabited peaceably with the grizzlies, each usually giving the other wide berth, at a mid-19th century ratio of about 10,000 California grizzlies to 130,000 native Americans.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 13, 2026
"Normally there's a queue, even out at sea, waiting for a berth."
From BBC ● Aug. 6, 2026
But giving this absolute unit a wide berth has become more challenging as his viral fame grows, because humans keep crowding Neil, getting dangerously close and perhaps forgetting that he is a wild animal.
From Salon ● Jul. 7, 2026
The rabbits gave them a wide berth and came through by another gap further up, close to the gnarled trunk of an old crab-apple tree.
From "Watership Down: A Novel" by Richard Adams
The Premier League secured one of the two berths for 2026-27 after Arsenal won 1-0 at Sporting on Tuesday.
From BBC ● Apr. 8, 2026
Dominating a sandy stretch of Qatar’s northern coast, Ras Laffan is a sprawling industrial fortress of pipes, flare stacks and loading berths built around the world’s largest artificial harbor.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Mar. 19, 2026
Loading berths at the Fujairah tanker terminal were suspended, the port and marine management company Inchcape Shipping Services said in a note early Tuesday.
From Barron's ● Mar. 17, 2026
Five teams from the section have received berths in the highest division over the last 14 years, but none since Fairfax in 2018.
From Los Angeles Times ● Mar. 11, 2026
Within a few minutes, Jason and Percy were sitting up in their berths and able to talk in complete sentences.
From "The Mark of Athena" by Rick Riordan
While rain battered Manhattan during Memorial Day weekend, more than 1,400 people packed into the hangar deck of the USS Intrepid, a World War II aircraft carrier permanently berthed at Midtown Manhattan’s Pier 86.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 15, 2026
Each “Book” occupies one side of a long bilateral vitrine, which commands the narrow gallery like a berthed aircraft carrier.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Mar. 30, 2026
The ship Mississippi was berthed at Terminal G when the containers mysteriously fell into the water.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 10, 2025
It is currently berthed at Southampton docks, having arrived at about 08:00 from Cartagena Port in Spain.
From BBC ● Oct. 12, 2024
"The great cog Saduleon is berthed at the end of the quay, and the galleys Summer Sun and Joso’s Prank are anchored beyond the breakwater."
From "A Clash of Kings" by George R.R. Martin
Giving evidence to a Senedd committee on Thursday, Ian Davies from Stena Line ports said the damage was caused by two ferries making "contact" with one of the berthing terminals.
From BBC ● Mar. 6, 2025
Subject to berthing trials, MV Isle of Lewis could be redeployed to the Little Minch routes, freeing up MV Hebrides to be deployed to boost Arran services.
From BBC ● Mar. 5, 2024
While electrification at the berthing docks is already underway in Seattle, grant programs in the legislation will support further electrification and the transition from diesel-powered machinery, not just in Washington but around the country.
From Seattle Times ● Aug. 14, 2023
Turkey's Ceyhan port was ready to resume Iraqi crude oil loadings from storage on Tuesday, but bad weather was preventing vessels from berthing, a trade source with direct knowledge said.
From Reuters ● Feb. 7, 2023
In this form it is a synonym of berthing.
From The Sailor's Word-Book An Alphabetical Digest of Nautical Terms, including Some More Especially Military and Scientific, but Useful to Seamen; as well as Archaisms of Early Voyagers, etc. by Sir Edward Belcher
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
