berth

American  

[burth] / bɜrθ /

noun

• berths
  plural

1. a shelflike sleeping space, as on a ship, airplane, or railroad car.

2. Nautical.

   1. the space allotted to a vessel at anchor or at a wharf.

   2. the distance maintained between a vessel and the shore, another vessel, or any object.

   3. the position or rank of a ship's officer.

   4. the cabin of a ship's officer.

3. a job; position.

4. a place, listing, or role.

   She clinched a berth on our tennis team.

   Synonyms:

   appointment, niche, post, position, slot, spot

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verb (used with object)

• berths,
  present (3rd person singular)
• berthed,
  past participle,  past
• berthing
  present participle

1. Nautical.

   1. to allot to (a vessel) a certain space at which to anchor or tie up.

   2. to bring to or install in a berth, anchorage, or moorage.

      The captain had to berth the ship without the aid of tugboats.

2. to provide with a sleeping space, as on a train.

verb (used without object)

• berths,
  present (3rd person singular)
• berthed,
  past participle,  past
• berthing
  present participle

1. Nautical. to come to a dock, anchorage, or moorage.

idioms

1. give a wide berth to, to shun; remain discreetly away from.

   Since his riding accident, he has given a wide berth to skittish horses.

berth British  

/ bɜːθ /

noun

1. a bed or bunk in a vessel or train, usually narrow and fixed to a wall

2. nautical a place assigned to a ship at a mooring

3. nautical sufficient distance from the shore or from other ships or objects for a ship to manoeuvre

4. to keep clear of; avoid

5. nautical accommodation on a ship

6. informal a job, esp as a member of a ship's crew

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verb

1. (tr) nautical to assign a berth to (a vessel)

2. nautical to dock (a vessel)

3. (tr) to provide with a sleeping place, as on a vessel or train

4. (intr) nautical to pick up a mooring in an anchorage

berth More Idioms  

1. see give a wide berth to.

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Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• unberth
  verb (used with object)

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• berths
  plural

Participles

• berthing
  present
• berthed
  past

Conjugated Forms

Present

• berth
  simple
• berths
  simple
• have berthed
  perfect
• has berthed
  perfect
• am berthing
  progressive
• are berthing
  progressive
• is berthing
  progressive
• have been berthing
  perfect progressive
• has been berthing
  perfect progressive

Past

• berthed
  simple
• had berthed
  perfect
• was berthing
  progressive
• were berthing
  progressive
• had been berthing
  perfect progressive

Future

• will berth
  simple
• will have berthed
  perfect
• will be berthing
  progressive
• will have been berthing
  perfect progressive

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.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

berth berths berthed berthing

That’s good enough for a playoff berth but two places and five points out of home-field advantage for the postsesason.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 1, 2026

But Ramsdale quickly fell behind Raya in the pecking order in 2023-24 and lost his starting berth after just four league games.

From BBC ● Sep. 28, 2026

It’s worked well enough: They’re virtual locks for a National League wild-card berth.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 26, 2026

They can, of course, give a wide berth to controversial topics in their songs.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 18, 2026

“All is arranged. Yours is the upper berth, the number 7. We start in one minute.”

From "Murder on the Orient Express" by Agatha Christie

Hundreds of metres of berths sat empty and towering gantry cranes stood idle as a skeleton crew conducted maintenance.

From BBC ● Aug. 6, 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

That in itself is not an unusual number, as ships routinely wait their turn to load or unload at port berths in the region.

From MarketWatch ● Mar. 6, 2026

Two porters tried to shoo the birds out of the berths.

From "Mr. Popper's Penguins" by Florence Atwater and Richard Atwater

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

Another 57 containers were reported damaged after the ship berthed at the Port of Long Beach.

From Los Angeles Times ● Mar. 19, 2026

But just around the corner, berthed where no-one can take pictures, is a group of military vessels.

From BBC ● Aug. 31, 2025

Tristran was given a berth with Oddness, the first mate, a quiet gentleman with large wings and a bad stammer, while Yvaine berthed in Meggot's cabin, and Meggot herself moved into a hammock.

From "Stardust" by Neil Gaiman

Fishguard port saw an increase in sailings after Holyhead was closed after berthing terminals were damaged there during Storm Darragh in December 2024.

From BBC ● Jun. 22, 2025

CalMac, which is also owned by the Scottish government, will now spend six-and-a-half weeks conducting crew familiarisation and harbour berthing trials.

From BBC ● Nov. 21, 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

It was moored just at the entrance to the dock or mole, and was in charge of an official who regulated the berthing of vessels.

From Looking Seaward Again by Walter Runciman

Related Words

• dock
• port
• wharf