wharf
Americannoun
-
wharves,
plural
-
wharfs
plural
verb (used with object)
-
to provide with a wharf or wharves.
-
to place or store on a wharf.
The schedule allowed little time to wharf the cargo.
-
to accommodate at or bring to a wharf.
The new structure will wharf several vessels.
verb (used without object)
noun
-
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
-
the working area of a dock
-
an obsolete word for shore 1
verb
-
to moor or dock at a wharf
-
to provide or equip with a wharf or wharves
-
to store or unload on a wharf
Other Word Forms
Noun Inflected Forms
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."
Vocabulary lists containing wharf
Seas The Day: Words That Shore Are Beachy
Looking to grow your vocabulary? Check out this interactive, curated word list from our team of English language specialists at Vocabulary.com – one of over 17,000 lists we've built to help learners worldwide!
100 SAT words Beginning with W,X,Y, and Z
Interested in learning more words like this one? Our team at Vocabulary.com has got you covered! You can review flashcards, quiz yourself, practice spelling, and more – and it's all completely free to use!
"The Yellow Wallpaper" by Charlotte Perkins Gilman
Want to remember this word for good? Start your learning journey today with our library of interactive, themed word lists built by the experts at Vocabulary.com – we'll help you make the most of your study time!
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.
See Examples For:
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
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
“Today, we are not just cutting a ribbon,” Braverman said as onlookers gathered along the wharf.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 10, 2025
The Argo II was docked at a busy wharf.
From "The House of Hades" by Rick Riordan
Later that decade, Avery befriended Rothko and then Gottlieb, and by 1932 all three were summering in Gloucester, spending their mornings sketching or painting the harbor, the wharfs, the sea, the beach and the bathers.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 1, 2026
It lurks in the halls of famed institutions and the parking lots of dreary, run-down wharfs.
From Salon ● Dec. 5, 2025
Mikkelsen said the port is planning upgrades to wharfs and access roads, improved on-site utilities, and dredging and environmental restoration, among other efforts to accommodate the wind equipment.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 18, 2025
A major fire is still raging at the site and pictures show huge, billowing black clouds over the wharfs.
From BBC ● Apr. 26, 2025
“What was you doing on St. Joseph Street? That’s all warehouses and wharfs out there. They’s no people on St. Joseph. That’s not even on our routes.”
From "A Confederacy of Dunces" by John Kennedy Toole
The port, with the help of federal and provincial funds, is spending 609 million Canadian dollars dredging the river and building new wharves.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 22, 2025
Many of California’s wharves and piers are now centenarians.
From Los Angeles Times ● Dec. 28, 2024
A neighborhood near the wharves is still known as the Irish Channel.
From Seattle Times ● Mar. 15, 2024
New Zealand's Foreign Minister Nanaia Mahuta said in a statement on Wednesday that building climate-resilient wharves and establishing reliable and regular shipping services would help the prosperity and wellbeing of the people of Vanuatu.
From Reuters ● Nov. 23, 2022
Dr. Trefusis and I walked along the wharves and spake of disguise, color, substance, and the solidity of matter.
From "The Astonishing Life of Octavian Nothing, Traitor to the Nation, Volume I: The Pox Party" by M.T. Anderson
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.
