wharf

American  

[hwawrf, wawrf] / ʰwɔrf, wɔrf /

noun

plural

wharves, wharfs

1. a structure built on the shore of or projecting into a harbor, stream, etc., so that vessels may be moored alongside to load or unload or to lie at rest; quay; pier.

2. Obsolete.

   1. a riverbank.

   2. the shore of the sea.

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verb (used with object)

1. to provide with a wharf or wharves.

2. to place or store on a wharf.

   The schedule allowed little time to wharf the cargo.

3. to accommodate at or bring to a wharf.

   The new structure will wharf several vessels.

verb (used without object)

1. to tie up at a wharf; dock.

   The ship wharfed in the early morning.

wharf British  

/ wɔːf /

noun

1. a platform of timber, stone, concrete, etc, built parallel to the waterfront at a harbour or navigable river for the docking, loading, and unloading of ships

2. the working area of a dock

3. an obsolete word for shore 1

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verb

1. to moor or dock at a wharf

2. to provide or equip with a wharf or wharves

3. to store or unload on a wharf

Etymology

Origin of wharf

before 1050; Middle English (noun); Old English hwearf embankment; cognate with Middle Low German warf; akin to German Werf pier

Example Sentences

“Ahoy there!” she shouted, jumping onto the wharf and standing up as tall and brave as she could.

From Literature

They also tried to resuscitate the boy as the boat made its way to an ambulance waiting by a wharf.

From BBC

The crew blow-torched the fasteners and released the cables that held the crane to the ship, while workers on land laid temporary rails across the wharf.

From The Wall Street Journal

It lurks in the halls of famed institutions and the parking lots of dreary, run-down wharfs.

From Salon

Boats can dock at wharfs, quays and piers protected by the reef's natural lagoon.

From The Wall Street Journal

Related Words

• berth
• dock
• jetty
• levee
• pier