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.
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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)
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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.
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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
-
the act or method of delivering aircraft by flying them to their destination
verb
-
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
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has ferriedperfect
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am ferryingprogressive
-
are ferryingprogressive
-
is ferryingprogressive
-
have been ferryingperfect progressive
-
has been ferryingperfect progressive
Past
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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:
One last ferry back to Oban and a short drive to our final course, Seil Golf Club.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 25, 2026
Police in Scotland have warned against unnecessary road journeys and ferry services have been cancelled.
From BBC ● Oct. 25, 2026
Golf is vastly different in the Hebrides, two archipelagoes off the west coast of Scotland, all but one of the islands accessible only by ferry.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 25, 2026
Some ferry services between the UK and France were cancelled, while National Rail advised many routes were travelling at slower speeds.
From BBC ● Oct. 23, 2026
“Because you hate to ride the ferry, Grandma, especially in the wintertime.”
From "Jacob Have I Loved" by Katherine Paterson
Six men taking several ferries, driving in a van over 1,200 miles on one-lane roads shared with cows, hiking miles of rugged terrain, all while carrying our clubs.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 25, 2026
Baconnais-Rosez also said some smugglers were still attempting to use ferries to Newhaven in Sussex.
From BBC ● Sep. 29, 2026
The Indonesian archipelago has more than 17,000 islands and ferries are a common form of transport.
From BBC ● Sep. 13, 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
White electric ferries made their way back and forth, shuttling fans over to the west side, where an observation train awaited them, its thirteen white-skirted flat cars outfitted with bleachers.
From "The Boys in the Boat: Nine Americans and Their Epic Quest for Gold at the 1936 Berlin Olympics" by Daniel James Brown
Tehran responded by expanding air links between China and Iran via Mahan Air, an Iranian airline sanctioned by the U.S. that Treasury says has ferried cash, weapons and personnel for Iran.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 24, 2026
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
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
Boats have ferried more than 400 people so far from the Cap Ferret peninsula that stretches along France's Atlantic coast west of the city of Bordeaux, city authorities said.
From Barron's ● Jul. 24, 2026
They gave burial to the piteous dead, or bore the bodies of voung men from other islands down to the port, thence to be ferried home.
From "The Odyssey" by Homer
One company makes electric cars that are inherently terrestrial, ferrying millions of drivers on roads around the world.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 22, 2026
On the day we visited, Olena was busy ferrying supplies to the house and supervising the installation of a new door.
From BBC ● Oct. 9, 2026
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
Reports about food and conditions on ship don’t grapple with the challenges of ferrying fresh lettuce into a combat zone.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 2, 2026
After ferrying everything from the ship, he noticed their rescued girl shivering and went back to the ship again.
From "Ship Breaker" by Paolo Bacigalupi
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