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waterfront

American  
[waw-ter-fruhnt, wot-er-] / ˈwɔ tərˌfrʌnt, ˈwɒt ər- /

noun

  1. land on the edge of a body of water.

  2. a part of a city or town on such land; wharf or dock section.

  3. a container placed before a stove to heat water.

waterfront British  
/ ˈwɔːtəˌfrʌnt /

noun

  1. the area of a town or city alongside a body of water, such as a harbour or dockyard

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
waterfront Idioms  

  1. see cover the field (waterfront).

Etymology

Origin of waterfront

An Americanism dating back to 1760–70; water + front

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.

He owns properties including a condo in Sunny Isles Beach and a waterfront home in Fort Lauderdale.

From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 11, 2026

Police said a lot of the initial contact with the victims had been made through the GWR FM studios on Bristol's waterfront after the girls had shown interest in the radio station and in Rowell.

From BBC • Apr. 9, 2026

In theory, should a buyer wish to create a much larger waterfront dwelling, they could scoop up both properties, which would given them a parcel totaling around 0.3 acres.

From MarketWatch • Apr. 9, 2026

On Monday, his son Eric Trump posted computer-generated images of a future Trump Library on X showing an imposing skyscraper on the Miami waterfront.

From Barron's • Mar. 31, 2026

We parked by the waterfront shops and hiked to Liberty State Park.

From "Burning Blue" by Paul Griffin

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.