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

Containers, in 20-foot-equivalent units, waiting to berth at ports worldwide—a new all-time congestion high—mainly because of storms in East Asia disrupting schedules, according to Linerlytica.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 26, 2026

"Normally there's a queue, even out at sea, waiting for a berth."

From BBC ● Aug. 6, 2026

Spain clinched a berth to the final Tuesday by smothering France 2-0 at AT&T Stadium, running its unbeaten streak to 37 games while eliminating a team that had run roughshod through the tournament.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 15, 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

I notice, because I can’t help it, that some of the people we pass on the way to the meeting give me nasty looks, or a wide berth.

From "Allegiant" by Veronica Roth

The authority that manages the port said it remained fully operational "with all terminals and berths experiencing regular vessel arrivals and departures".

From Barron's ● Jul. 30, 2026

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

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

We couldn’t get berths in the sleeper car, so we dozed in our seats.

From "The Lightning Thief" 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

Beginning in 1903, it was berthed in Venice, if you can say “berthed” about a vessel that wasn’t a real ship.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 8, 2025

Bright Spark: "Side-on view of the Vital Spark berthed in Inveraray", says Bryan Wark.

From BBC ● Feb. 4, 2024

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

In Belgium and Japan there are ferries autonomously navigating between destinations, berthing and unberthing at each location.

From BBC ● Mar. 6, 2024

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

A few days later Ned was able to report again for his duties, and after that Hank was transferred to another division, berthing in another part of the ship.

From Two Boys of the Battleship or For the Honor of Uncle Sam by Frank V. Webster

Related Words

• dock
• port
• wharf