pier

American  

[peer] / pɪər /

noun

piers plural

1. a structure built on posts extending from land out over water, used as a landing place for ships, an entertainment area, a strolling place, etc.; jetty.

2. (in a bridge or the like) a support for the ends of adjacent spans.

3. a square pillar.

4. a portion of wall between doors, windows, etc.

5. a pillar or post on which a gate or door is hung.

6. a support of masonry, steel, or the like for sustaining vertical pressure.

7. a long passageway or corridor that extends from a central area of a building, especially one at an airport that leads to boarding gates.

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pier British  

/ pɪə /

noun

1. a structure with a deck that is built out over water, and used as a landing place, promenade, etc

2. a pillar that bears heavy loads, esp one of rectangular cross section

3. the part of a wall between two adjacent openings

4. another name for buttress

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Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• underpier
  noun

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• piers
  plural

Etymology

Origin of pier

before 1150; Middle English pere, earlier (perhaps late Old English ) per < Anglo-Latin pera, pēra pier of a bridge

Explanation

A pier is a platform reaching out to sea that can be used as a landing place for ships. If you enjoy sea fishing and don't have a boat, try casting your line from the end of the pier. Pier has two meanings. The most common is for the platform, often wooden, that extends over water away from shore, so that ships can dock. Many seaside towns have turned their piers into entertainment districts, with games and places to stroll. A pier can also be a pillar that supports a bridge.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

pier piers

July 20 in a parking lot next to the pier, which earlier in the day had been packed with World Cup watchers.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 27, 2026

A man is in a critical condition in hospital after three people got into difficulty in the water near an Essex pier.

From BBC ● Jul. 26, 2026

Later that night, the suspect, who was visiting Santa Monica with family, went alone to the pier, where he met up with a group of friends, according to police.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 24, 2026

Its 116-year-old pier, with a Ferris wheel above the waves, has long been a tourist draw just north of L.A.’s Venice Beach.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 6, 2026

As they began “Twenty-three Raggedy Anns on the shelf” for the second time, Abby’s tree collided with the remains of an old fishing pier.

From "Earthquake Terror" by Peg Kehret

Shaking from a quake could damage wharves, piers, buildings and roadway above the seawall.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 20, 2026

DUBAI—Before the Iran war, 40,000 shipping containers a day moved through Jebel Ali port, a sprawling complex of deep-water piers and warehouses that powered this city-state’s rise from backwater to international powerhouse.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 2, 2026

But in 1982-83, when another super El Niño occurred, storms destroyed multiple piers and ripped away a 400-foot section of the Santa Monica Pier.

From Los Angeles Times ● Apr. 9, 2026

He said the team had painstakingly recreated recognisable elements of the town, such as the winding alleyways and the texture of the piers.

From BBC ● Feb. 16, 2026

We walked to where our pier joined the dock with many other piers and curved bridges attached to it.

From "When I Was Puerto Rican" by Esmeralda Santiago

Related Words

• dam
• dock
• jetty
• promenade
• wharf