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.
-
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)
-
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:
And McDermott is keen for his side to stick to the blueprint that helped them thrash France 82-0 last weekend to keep slim prospects of a semi-final berth within their sights.
From BBC ● Oct. 29, 2026
But during Claire’s 11-year tenure as GM, the Dodgers won a World Series, two division titles, a wild-card berth and a first-place finish in the strike-shortened 1994 season.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 6, 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
They can, of course, give a wide berth to controversial topics in their songs.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 18, 2026
Whaleback to starboard now...and a good berth to the northwest point of Baker’s Island...
From "Carry On, Mr. Bowditch" by Jean Lee Latham
A fire on the USS Gerald R. Ford that originated in the ship’s laundry in March injured two sailors and left 600 others without sleeping berths while deployed in the Middle East.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 5, 2026
Hundreds of metres of berths sat empty and towering gantry cranes stood idle as a skeleton crew conducted maintenance.
From BBC ● Aug. 6, 2026
Attacks targeted Iraq’s Majnoon oilfield and a tanker near Fujairah, U.A.E., leading to the suspension of loading berths.
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
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
The ship Mississippi was berthed at Terminal G when the containers mysteriously fell into the water.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 10, 2025
The sailors will remain on-board "for the foreseeable future" while the investigation continues, although the company hopes they will be allowed to disembark soon after the ship is berthed.
From BBC ● May 20, 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
Other rising costs faced by the lobster industry include berthing, insurance and maintenance.
From Barron's ● Oct. 24, 2026
In previous evidence to the Commons' Welsh Affairs Committee Ian Davies confirmed that there were "berthing incidents" on 6 and 7 December which rendered both ferry terminals inoperable.
From BBC ● Mar. 6, 2025
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
CalMac plans to initially conduct sea and berthing trials before deploying MV Alfred on its routes, so no bookings or services have been affected.
From BBC ● Apr. 15, 2023
Nor was the steward's frequent physical separation based on race; berthing was arranged by department and function aboard large vessels.
From Integration of the Armed Forces, 1940-1965 by Morris J. MacGregor
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