wherry
Americannoun
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a light rowboat for one person; skiff.
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any of various barges, fishing vessels, etc., used locally in England.
verb (used with or without object)
noun
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any of certain kinds of half-decked commercial boats, such as barges, used in Britain
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a light rowing boat used in inland waters and harbours
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Etymology
Origin of wherry
1400–50; late Middle English whery < ?
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 Canaries’ next play Brighton and Watford and improved performances and results will be needed if this Norfolk project isn’t to take on the appearance of a wherry holed beneath the waterline.
From The Guardian ● Oct. 28, 2019
This was to row in what were called ‘old-fashioned’ wager boats, i.e. the lightest form of wherry which used to be built before H. Clasper established outriggers.
From Boating by Woodgate, W. B.
On the street that skirts the harbor I saw a fisherman just landed enter his cottage, "paying out," as he went, from a coil of rope, one end being, I ascertained, fastened to his wherry.
From Nooks and Corners of the New England Coast by Drake, Samuel Adams
But as this was not the case, he was placed in a wherry, and conveyed, as before related, to the Tower.
From Guy Fawkes or The Gunpowder Treason by Ainsworth, William Harrison
And followed by Guy Fawkes, he hurried to the river side, where a wherry was moored.
From Guy Fawkes or The Gunpowder Treason by Ainsworth, William Harrison
Before lorries became the preferred mode of transportation, wherries - large sailing boats used in the Broads - would have transported goods to and from the factory.
From BBC ● Jul. 21, 2026
Through black smoke and swirling green fire, Davos glimpsed a swarm of small, boats bearing downriver: a confusion of ferries and wherries, barges, skiffs, rowboats, and hulks that looked too rotten to float.
From "A Clash of Kings" by George R.R. Martin
Glancing astern, I remarked four wherries coming down at a great pace with the ebb.
From Nooks and Corners of the New England Coast by Drake, Samuel Adams
It, too, looks picturesque, with its quays, and shipping, and tugs, and wherries.
From Memoirs of Service Afloat, During the War Between the States by Semmes, Raphael
There were no minnows darting through the depths like silver needles, or craw-fish burrowing in the banks, or water beetles skimming the surface like oarsmen rowing their light wherries.
From Witch Winnie's Mystery, or The Old Oak Cabinet The Story of a King's Daughter by Champney, Elizabeth W. (Elizabeth Williams)
"My darling child," said she, hugging and kissing her just as tenderly as if she had never been "wherrying."
From Dotty Dimple At Home by May, Sophie
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.
