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

Explanation

A wharf is a platform built on the shore that extends over the surface of the water. On the wharf, you saw people preparing to set sail. A wharf provides access for ships and boats, that can pull up and dock alongside it. In fact, wharfs are also called docks or piers. Wharfs are made of wood and act like sidewalks, making it easy to people, cargo and supplies to enter and leave a boat. As a verb, wharf means "to moor," or tie the boat to the wharf and drop an anchor, or "to be given a place at the wharf."

Example Sentences

The Minerva Gloria is docked at a wharf in the Mississippi Sound, not far from the US's vast oil reserves in the Gulf of Mexico.

From BBC • Apr. 7, 2026

City hall, the slave market, and town pillory were all there, and the wharf on the East River “made it a rendezvous for pirates,” writes Sobol.

From Barron's • Mar. 1, 2026

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

From BBC • Jan. 19, 2026

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 • Dec. 28, 2025

As she stepped forward, the wharf tilted upward, and she felt curiously lightheaded.

From "The Witch of Blackbird Pond" by Elizabeth George Speare

Related Words

• berth
• dock
• jetty
• levee
• pier