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• ford
  ford

  noun

  a place where a river or other body of water is shallow enough to be crossed by wading.
• Ford
  Ford

  noun

  Elizabeth Bloomer Betty, 1918–2011, U.S. First Lady 1974–77 (wife of Gerald R. Ford).

ford

¹ American  

[fawrd, fohrd] / fɔrd, foʊrd /

noun

• fords
  plural

1. a place where a river or other body of water is shallow enough to be crossed by wading.

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verb (used with object)

• fords,
  present (3rd person singular)
• forded,
  past participle,  past
• fording
  present participle

1. to cross (a river, stream, etc.) at a ford.

Ford ² American  

[fawrd, fohrd] / fɔrd, foʊrd /

noun

1. Elizabeth Bloomer Betty, 1918–2011, U.S. First Lady 1974–77 (wife of Gerald R. Ford).

2. Ford Madox Ford Madox Hueffer, 1873–1939, English novelist, poet, critic, and editor.

3. Gerald R(udolph, Jr.) Leslie Lynch King, Jr., 1913–2006, U.S. political leader: congressman 1948–73; vice president 1973–74; 38th president of the U.S. 1974–77.

4. Guy Stanton, 1873–1963, U.S. historian, educator, and editor.

5. Henry, 1863–1947, U.S. automobile manufacturer.

6. John, 1586?–c1640, English playwright.

7. John Sean O'Feeney, 1895–1973, U.S. film director.

8. a male given name.

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Ford ¹ British  

/ fɔːd /

noun

1. Ford Maddox (ˈmædəks) original name Ford Madox Hueffer . 1873–1939, English novelist, editor, and critic; works include The Good Soldier (1915) and the war tetralogy Parade's End (1924–28).

2. Gerald R ( udolph ). 1913–2006, US politician; 38th president of the US (1974–77)

3. Harrison . born 1942, US film actor. His films include Star Wars (1977) and its sequels, Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981) and its sequels, Bladerunner (1982), Clear and Present Danger (1994), and What Lies Beneath (2000)

4. Henry . 1863–1947, US car manufacturer, who pioneered mass production

5. John . 1586–?1639, English dramatist; author of revenge tragedies such as 'Tis Pity She's a Whore (1633)

6. John , real name Sean O'Feeney . 1895–1973, US film director, esp of Westerns such as Stagecoach (1939) and She Wore a Yellow Ribbon (1949)

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ford ² British  

/ fɔːd /

noun

1. a shallow area in a river that can be crossed by car, horseback, etc

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verb

1. (tr) to cross (a river, brook, etc) over a shallow area

Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• fordable
  adjective
• unfordable
  adjective
• unforded
  adjective

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• fords
  plural

Participles

• fording
  present
• forded
  past

Conjugated Forms

Present

• ford
  simple
• fords
  simple
• have forded
  perfect
• has forded
  perfect
• am fording
  progressive
• are fording
  progressive
• is fording
  progressive
• have been fording
  perfect progressive
• has been fording
  perfect progressive

Past

• forded
  simple
• had forded
  perfect
• was fording
  progressive
• were fording
  progressive
• had been fording
  perfect progressive

Future

• will ford
  simple
• will have forded
  perfect
• will be fording
  progressive
• will have been fording
  perfect progressive

Etymology

Origin of ford

before 900; Middle English (noun), Old English; cognate with Old Frisian forda, German Furt; akin to Old Norse fjǫrthr, fare, port ¹

Explanation

When you’re out hiking in the wilderness, you may have to ford a river if there’s no bridge. Roll up your pant legs because you'll have to wade through the water at a shallow point. The verb ford describes crossing a body of water on foot at a shallow point or driving across it in a vehicle. The idea is that you’re not using a bridge or a boat to cross the water. Ford also has a noun form, meaning a shallow point in a river or stream. So if you ever have to ford a river, make sure you cross at the ford — the shallow point — or you could get very wet.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

ford Ford fords forded fording

The river height marker was left completely dry at a ford on the River Redlake in Bucknell, Shropshire.

From BBC ● Jul. 29, 2026

They have been scouring the area around Abberwick ford where a minor road crosses the River Aln near the village of Bolton in North Northumberland.

From BBC ● Dec. 10, 2024

For decades, cars have been splashing through a notorious ford to the delight of onlookers, making it both a tourist attraction and social media sensation.

From BBC ● Feb. 3, 2024

He says it now needs doing again in order to prevent the ford flooding as often as it does.

From BBC ● Feb. 3, 2024

I think too much of my car; I’m not going to hammer it to pieces like it was a ford.

From "The Sound and the Fury" by William Faulkner

Ford said he told him he wouldn’t lift the province’s ban on U.S. alcohol—a demand of U.S. negotiators.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 26, 2026

Ford is set to begin making F-Series Super Duty trucks later this year at a plant near Toronto in Oakville, in addition to at a factory in Kentucky.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 26, 2026

The unresolved trade issues between the two sides, a list that is almost comical in both its breadth and specificity, suggests why Ford has so much pull.

From Slate ● Aug. 25, 2026

"But I want to make a deal — a good deal for the American people, a good deal for Canadians," Ford said.

From BBC ● Aug. 25, 2026

Ford turns to the room and says, “All right, everyone, clean up your area. It’s quiet reading time now. Come pick out your books, please.”

From "Split the Sky" by Marie Arnold

There are regularly stories of drivers who end up going through floods, fords and teetering on the edge of canals after following their GPS systems, prompting warnings about the dangers of slavishly following the route.

From BBC ● Feb. 21, 2026

The reroute required building a small bridge and establishing new creek fords.

From Seattle Times ● Sep. 21, 2022

“The planned route is at least 135 miles long, and depending on the?deviations, avoiding avalanche risks, finding safe river fords, and?wandering in the trees, it could be as much as 150 miles,” Williams said.

From Washington Times ● Feb. 22, 2016

You have to ford numerous rivers, and the Shoshones, Pawnees and Sioux, were extremely adept at helping the pioneers make these fords.

From National Geographic ● Jul. 12, 2015

Few went to rest, for small hope had any now that even Faramir could hold the fords for long.

From "The Return of the King" by J.R.R. Tolkien

He has picked his way across roads and railways, forded local streams and swum across the River Danube.

From BBC ● Sep. 22, 2025

Akil continues down the road that Blume's 1975 novel forded, accurately capturing adolescence's hidden longing and confusion.

From Salon ● May 21, 2025

Klemperer and his colleagues, including collaborators in China, traversed dirt roads and forded streams to collect samples from some 200 natural springs across nearly 1000 kilometers of southern Tibet.

From Science Magazine ● Jan. 9, 2024

A handful of snowmobile passengers stranded in slush had to be rescued by helicopter, adventure guides said, and some skiers returning to Longyearbyen forded water up to their waists.

From New York Times ● May 19, 2022

Like he had forded a raging river and come to the other side.

From "The Serpent King" by Jeff Zentner

Some had their belongings stolen or damaged while fording rivers.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 27, 2023

Scotty Jalbert, emergency services manager for San Luis Obispo County, said river crossings can be deceiving and people can run into trouble after successfully fording them several times.

From Seattle Times ● Jan. 11, 2023

They explored the property, hiking its trails, fording the stream that ran through it.

From Washington Post ● Sep. 24, 2022

Jeep says the Grand Cherokee 4xe is capable of water fording up to 24 inches.

From The Verge ● Sep. 29, 2021

A group of mice led by Brother Alf tried fording the ditch and climbing up into the meadow.

From "Redwall" by Brian Jacques

Related Words

• cruise
• cut across
• navigate
• pass over
• ply
• sail
• span
• traverse