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• marina
  marina

  noun

  a boat basin offering dockage and other service for small craft.
• Marina
  Marina

  noun

  a town in W California.

marina

¹ American  

[muh-ree-nuh] / məˈri nə /

noun

• marinas
  plural

1. a boat basin offering dockage and other service for small craft.

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Marina ² American  

[muh-ree-nuh] / məˈri nə /

noun

1. a town in W California.

2. a female given name.

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marina British  

/ məˈriːnə /

noun

1. an elaborate docking facility for pleasure boats

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Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

• marinas
  plural

Etymology

Origin of marina

1795–1805; < Italian, Spanish, noun use of feminine of marino < Latin marīnus marine

Explanation

A marina is a dock, especially a fancy one used for sailboats and yachts. If you live in a harbor town, you can walk down the marina to watch boats come and go. A marina differs from a port, which is also a harbor where boats can dock, because it's designed for small boats and yachts, rather than large ships. Seaside towns and cities often have public marinas for mooring boats, and private yacht clubs also have marinas. The word marine, which means "pertaining to the sea," can help you remember that a marina is a place where boats dock. The Latin root of both is mare, "the sea."

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

marina Marina marinas

"Las Vegas has done a phenomenal job in preserving and... reclaiming water," said Bruce Nelson, whose family has owned the lake's marina for almost 70 years.

From Barron's ● Aug. 27, 2026

Yachts akin to floating palaces fill the marina, celebrity chefs jet in for residencies at local restaurants and Pampelonne Beach morphs into a sandy catwalk with seasonal beach clubs.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 20, 2026

After setting out from a marina in the San Francisco Bay Area, they passed under the Golden Gate Bridge to the Pacific Ocean and across the San Francisco Bay to Angel Island.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 16, 2026

Meanwhile, the poor millionaires hang out in the marina on their smaller yachts.

From Salon ● May 22, 2026

We stayed offshore, following the lights north, and figured in the morning we'd locate an inlet where we might find a marina and rest up for a few days.

From "Hole in My Life" by Jack Gantos

Lee’s close friend Marina Hollyer announced the engagement news Wednesday on her Instagram stories, captioning a photo of the newly betrothed pair with the caption: “My best friend in the world just got engaged.”

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 20, 2026

Her mother, 72-year-old Luz Marina, recently suffered a thrombosis, and her sister Sandra, 38, ended up in a wheelchair because of meningitis.

From Barron's ● Aug. 11, 2026

Lorraine, who works at the nearby Marina Cafe, said she was sitting at the bar when she heard "loads of screaming".

From BBC ● Aug. 10, 2026

Marina Bolotnikova in Vox: Americans don’t know how to fight AI.

From Slate ● Aug. 6, 2026

When Marina reached the age of fifteen, the wind changed again for her.

From "A Thousand Sisters" by Elizabeth Wein

According to news reports, flames destroyed homes, restaurants, campgrounds, marinas, and other facilities around the reservoirs.

From Science Daily ● Aug. 5, 2026

Situated on the outskirts of neighbouring Ellinikon, it promises to hold hotels, shopping centres, parks, marinas and 8,000 homes.

From Barron's ● Jul. 3, 2026

Where beach shacks once stood, now you’ll find estates hidden behind hedges and marinas packed with yachts.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 20, 2026

Transportation construction spending, as the government defines it, refers to structures used for transportation, such as airport hangars, bus terminals, railroad tracks and marinas.

From MarketWatch ● Jun. 2, 2026

Reuben had cleared the coastal marinas of their sailboats and yachts and dragged them five miles inland and dumped them on their sides in parking lots.

From "Two Degrees" by Alan Gratz