1690–1700; spelling variant (after French quai ) of earlier kay (also key, whence the modern pronunciation) < Old French kay, cay; akin to Spanish cayo shoal. See key 2
You know that wharf on the bank of the river where all the boats park? It's not an aqua parking lot. It's called a quay. When you visit France and take a walk beside the wharves where boats dock and unload passengers, you can say you've been strolling along the quays of the Seine. The English spelling of this word was originally key, and that's one way to pronounce it even today, an alternative to "qway." Quay comes from the Old North French cai, "sand bank."
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Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
AFP journalists at Granadilla saw white tents erected along the quay and that the police, some in protective medical suits, had sealed off part of the small industrial port.
From Barron's ● May 10, 2026
Its rigorous order and deep perspective, enhanced by the receding lines of ship masts and rail tracks along the expansive quay, address his motif in a style apropos of its modern subject.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Mar. 28, 2026
"If I never went for the checks, I don't think I would be here today. So it was a real godsend for them to come down to the quay."
From BBC ● Aug. 7, 2025
The “Turenges” took a room in a hotel overlooking the harbor and discovered, to their surprise, an unguarded entrance that allowed them to observe the quay itself.
From Slate ● Jul. 22, 2025
After darkness had fallen, and when the stores and equipment had all been safely unloaded and stood in waiting on the quay, Farder Coram and Lyra walked along the waterfront and looked for Einarsson’s Bar.
From "The Golden Compass" by Philip Pullman
It includes plans for 33 apartments within three-and-a-half storey buildings and the demolition of the existing building to the east of Rodger's Quay.
From BBC ● Jun. 1, 2026
A riverside path runs from the Dock Park out to Kingholm Quay.
From BBC ● May 2, 2026
He doesn’t even know how to treat the cops who are his new guards, amusingly portrayed as a comedy-act trio who finish one another’s sentences by Ethan Dubin, Katie Kreisler and Dave Quay.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Mar. 12, 2026
He was a security guard based at South Quay Docklands at the time of the explosion in February 1996, which blew him off his feet and perforated his ear drums.
From BBC ● Mar. 10, 2026
One telegram is addressed to Mrs. Clohessy of Arthur’s Quay and that couldn’t be anyone but Paddy’s mother.
From "Angela's Ashes: A Memoir" by Frank McCourt
By now the news of their arrival had reached the town, and the quays were lined with people cheering in amazement at the return of the Corps of Discovery.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 16, 2026
On the stone quays of the Seine, even the most passionate odes to the river’s charms tend to arrive at the same conclusion: Nope.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 16, 2024
The strange-looking vessel had a deck that could be raised or lowered by winches to the level of the quays depending on the height of the tide.
From BBC ● Nov. 25, 2023
Some half a million spectators are expected along city quays for the opening ceremony on the Seine River, and even more for the rest of the July 26-Aug.
From Seattle Times ● Nov. 14, 2023
As his body was lowered, the rebels on the quays who smoked and watched applauded.
From "The Astonishing Life of Octavian Nothing, Traitor to the Nation, Volume II: The Kingdom on the Waves" by M.T. Anderson
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.
