ferry
Americannoun
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ferries
plural
-
a commercial service with terminals and boats for transporting persons, automobiles, etc., across a river or other comparatively small body of water.
-
a ferryboat.
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a service for flying airplanes over a particular route, especially the delivery of airplanes to an overseas purchaser or base of operations.
-
the legal right to ferry passengers, cargo, etc., and to charge for the service.
verb (used with object)
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ferries,
present (3rd person singular)
-
ferried,
past participle, past
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ferrying
present participle
-
to carry or convey back and forth over a fixed route in a boat or plane.
-
to fly (an airplane) over a particular route, especially for delivery.
verb (used without object)
-
ferries,
present (3rd person singular)
-
ferried,
past participle, past
-
ferrying
present participle
noun
-
Also called: ferryboat. a vessel for transporting passengers and usually vehicles across a body of water, esp as a regular service
-
-
such a service
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( in combination )
a ferryman
-
-
a legal right to charge for transporting passengers by boat
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the act or method of delivering aircraft by flying them to their destination
verb
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to transport or go by ferry
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to deliver (an aircraft) by flying it to its destination
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(tr) to convey (passengers, goods, etc)
the guests were ferried to the church in taxis
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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ferrysimple
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ferriessimple
-
have ferriedperfect
-
has ferriedperfect
-
am ferryingprogressive
-
are ferryingprogressive
-
is ferryingprogressive
-
have been ferryingperfect progressive
-
has been ferryingperfect progressive
Past
-
ferriedsimple
-
had ferriedperfect
-
was ferryingprogressive
-
were ferryingprogressive
-
had been ferryingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of ferry
before 1150; Middle English ferien, Old English ferian to carry; cognate with Old Norse ferja, Gothic farjan; akin to fare
Explanation
A ferry is a boat that carries people, cars, and cargo back and forth across a body of water. The Staten Island Ferry ferries commuters from Manhattan to Staten Island every ten minutes during rush hour. To ferry means to transport by ferry, or to transport in other ferry-like ways, i.e., multiple short trips. If you have an ice-skating birthday party, your dad might ferry a few van loads of kids back to your house afterward, for pizza and cake.
Vocabulary lists containing ferry
Greetings, World Traveler! — List 2
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Drowned City: Hurricane Katrina & New Orleans
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This Week in Words: Current Events Vocab for September 17–September 23, 2022
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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:
To complete our 600-mile loop, we headed south via car ferry to the Snæfellsnes Peninsula, overnighting in the pretty fishing town of Stykkishólmur.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 15, 2026
Shipments of water on passenger ferry the MS Oldenberg from north Devon began in August.
From BBC ● Oct. 7, 2026
On the ferry home, three boys spotted a little boy playing a videogame on a tablet and rushed over to watch.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 29, 2026
One resident in Bab el-Mandeb village said much of that construction was done by the Emirates, whose contractors would ferry Southeast Asian construction workers to the island and provide them with food.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 27, 2026
He came by ferry once a month and taught a half-dozen island youngsters, including Caroline and me, on our piano.
From "Jacob Have I Loved" by Katherine Paterson
Marine vessels such as ferries and cargo ships aren’t mass manufactured like cars.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 6, 2026
Passengers travelling on ferries between the UK and the Republic of Ireland will need to show their passport from Monday.
From BBC ● Sep. 28, 2026
The archipelago nation of 116 million has a long history of disasters involving the inter-island ferries that ply its seas.
From Barron's ● Sep. 11, 2026
Were Scotland's new gas-powered ferries a bad choice?
From BBC ● Sep. 8, 2026
All the ferries had been withdrawn to the north bank, and the trading galleys had fled or been seized by the Imp to be made over for battie.
From "A Clash of Kings" by George R.R. Martin
Once in Britain, according to the New York Times, Trump was covertly ferried back to Air Force One as though he had been aboard the whole time.
From Slate ● Aug. 11, 2026
The container then ferried him to a smaller C-32A aircraft that flew him to Britain, while media and some officials were led to believe Trump was still on the bigger jet.
From Barron's ● Aug. 11, 2026
At its peak, 80 firefighters tackled the blaze, with Isle of Wight crews supported by firefighters and engines ferried over from the mainland.
From BBC ● Jul. 31, 2026
In December, Air Force officials announced a B-52 Stratofortress was ferried from Boeing’s San Antonio facility to Edwards Air Force Base after it was equipped with a new radar system.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 16, 2026
Together they ferried the pieces of the bed frame up the narrow stairway.
From "Little Fires Everywhere" by Celeste Ng
Now the constant rumble of construction machinery has been replaced by a steady stream of vans and golf carts ferrying people to and from the paddock for this weekend's races.
From Barron's ● Sep. 12, 2026
High-speed boat trips ferrying tourists through the Aegean have become Odyssean voyages for some travelers.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 13, 2026
The plane took off from Ankara 20 minutes later, ferrying the president, his entourage, and the journalists who had covered his trip.
From Slate ● Aug. 11, 2026
Warships designed for tasks including anti-submarine defences "are not best used for ferrying people around", he explained.
From BBC ● Aug. 3, 2026
“The Marines are ferrying him home on a military transport, after a quick stop at Shake Shack for something called a Shack Stack and a concrete.”
From "The Smartest Kid in the Universe" by Chris Grabenstein
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
