wharf
[ hwawrf, wawrf ]
/ ʰwɔrf, wɔrf /
noun, plural wharves [hwawrvz, wawrvz] /ʰwɔrvz, wɔrvz/, wharfs.
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.
Obsolete.
- a riverbank.
- the shore of the sea.
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)
to tie up at a wharf; dock: The ship wharfed in the early morning.
QUIZZES
HEED THE VOX POPULI, AND TAKE THIS WORD OF THE DAY QUIZ!
Test your memory on these verbal firecrackers from the week of June 29 to July 5!
Question 1 of 7
anchorite
Origin of wharf
before 1050; Middle English (noun); Old English hwearf embankment; cognate with Middle Low German warf; akin to German Werf pier
Words nearby wharf
whapping, whare, whare wananga, wharenui, wharepuni, wharf, wharf rat, wharf shed, wharfage, wharfie, wharfinger
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2020
Example sentences from the Web for wharf
British Dictionary definitions for wharf
wharf
/ (wɔːf) /
noun plural wharves (wɔːvz) or wharfs
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 wharves NZ the working area of a dock
an obsolete word for shore 1
verb (tr)
to moor or dock at a wharf
to provide or equip with a wharf or wharves
to store or unload on a wharf
Word Origin for wharf
Old English hwearf heap; related to Old Saxon hwarf, Old High German hwarb a turn, Old Norse hvarf circle
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