mooring

American  

[moor-ing] / ˈmʊər ɪŋ /

noun

1. the act of a person or thing that moors.

2. Usually moorings. the means by which a ship, boat, or aircraft is moored.

3. moorings, a place where a ship, boat, or aircraft may be moored.

4. Usually moorings. one's stability or security.

   After the death of his wife he lost his moorings.

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mooring British  

/ ˈmʊərɪŋ, ˈmɔː- /

noun

1. a place for mooring a vessel

2. a permanent anchor, dropped in the water and equipped with a floating buoy, to which vessels can moor

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Etymology

Origin of mooring

1375–1425; late Middle English; compare Middle Dutch moor; see moor ², -ing ¹

Explanation

A mooring is kind of like a parking lot for boats — it's a place people can keep their dinghies, sailboats, or ships tied up. One complication of owning a boat is that you need to rent a mooring for it, a place to keep it while you're not out on the water. Piers, docks, and wharfs all typically provide moorings for boats and ships, where they can be attached securely with ropes. Mooring comes from the verb moor, "to fasten by cable," from a Germanic root.

Example Sentences

According to state-run news agency BSS, UAE-based DP World has expressed interest in operating the port's New Mooring Container Terminal, and Danish shipping giant A.P.

From Barron's • Nov. 1, 2025

But Lake Stevens, which had taken the initial lead on a Lucas Mooring 27-yard field goal earlier in the quarter, came right back.

From Seattle Times • Dec. 2, 2023

Mooring lines connect a vessel to a stationary point on the shore to prevent it from moving.

From Los Angeles Times • Jan. 20, 2023

“When everyone rushed out to get toilet paper and there was none ... people were using whatever they could,” said Pamela Mooring, spokeswoman for DC Water, the system in the nation’s capital.

From Fox News • Jun. 4, 2020

At Ewa Mooring Mast Field, a technical sergeant was peering through the lens of a camera at his three-year-old son.

From "Unbroken" by Laura Hillenbrand