mooring

American  

[moor-ing] / ˈmʊər ɪŋ /

noun

1. the act of a person or thing that moors.

2. Usually moorings. the means by which a ship, boat, or aircraft is moored.

3. moorings, a place where a ship, boat, or aircraft may be moored.

4. Usually moorings. one's stability or security.

   After the death of his wife he lost his moorings.

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mooring British  

/ ˈmʊərɪŋ, ˈmɔː- /

noun

1. a place for mooring a vessel

2. a permanent anchor, dropped in the water and equipped with a floating buoy, to which vessels can moor

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Etymology

Origin of mooring

1375–1425; late Middle English; compare Middle Dutch moor; see moor ², -ing ¹

Explanation

A mooring is kind of like a parking lot for boats — it's a place people can keep their dinghies, sailboats, or ships tied up. One complication of owning a boat is that you need to rent a mooring for it, a place to keep it while you're not out on the water. Piers, docks, and wharfs all typically provide moorings for boats and ships, where they can be attached securely with ropes. Mooring comes from the verb moor, "to fasten by cable," from a Germanic root.

Example Sentences

The crews use mooring ropes to lash the ships as close as 11 feet from each other so that they roll in the waves together.

From The Wall Street Journal • May 28, 2026

The steam mooring lighter with Victorian equipment and early diving gear is believed to have been lost in 1903 while travelling from Portsmouth to Portland.

From BBC • Dec. 10, 2025

A major Russian oil terminal near the southern port of Novorossiysk halted operations early Saturday after a naval drone attack damaged one of its three mooring points.

From Barron's • Nov. 29, 2025

The mooring lines tethered to the ocean floor are made of rope nearly thick as a telephone pole and under heavy tension.

From Seattle Times • May 14, 2024

Ozwin gave her a kiss and loosened the mooring lines that kept the big silk pontoons firmly on the ground.

From "Strange the Dreamer" by Laini Taylor