wharf

American  

[hwawrf, wawrf] / ʰwɔrf, wɔrf /

noun

• wharves,
  plural
• wharfs
  plural

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

Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

• wharfs
  plural
• wharves
  plural

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Etymology

Origin of wharf

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

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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

See Examples For:

wharf wharfs wharves

In “Green Gets It,” a man nearing 70 falls off a party yacht and flounders to the wharf.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 3, 2026

Potential adversaries will have to consider that any shipping container at an Australian wharf could have a Ghost Shark in it, he said.

From Barron's ● Oct. 19, 2026

In Capitola, a storm-damaged wharf reopened earlier this year after $10 million had been sunk into repairs.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 16, 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

At the end of the wharf, Lupita caught up with her brother.

From "Lupita Mañana" by Patricia Beatty

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

From Salon ● Dec. 5, 2025

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

From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 3, 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

Docked at the North End waterfront, it was a fireboat, ready to spray tons of ocean water on the many fires that often took place on the wharfs that extended out into the harbor.

From "1919 The Year That Changed America" by Martin W. Sandler

Shaking from a quake could damage wharves, piers, buildings and roadway above the seawall.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 20, 2026

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

A neighborhood near the wharves is still known as the Irish Channel.

From Seattle Times ● Mar. 15, 2024

“The waves came up under the wharves, picked them up and dropped them somewhere else,” Ms. Coombs said.

From New York Times ● Jan. 12, 2024

Nate spotted crooked rooftops, the wharves jutting into the river, and too many church steeples to count.

From I Survived the American Revolution, 1776 by Lauren Tarshis

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Related Words

• berth
• dock
• jetty
• levee
• pier

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