roadstead

[ rohd-sted ]

noun

, Nautical.

1. road ( def 4 ).

roadstead

/ ˈrəʊdˌstɛd /

noun

1. nautical another word for road

Word History and Origins

Origin of roadstead¹

First recorded in 1325–75, roadstead is from the Middle English word radestede. See road, stead

Example Sentences

Container ships and oil tankers, waiting for a berth, are assigned a place to anchor in the roadstead off Long Beach and Huntington Harbor.

From Los Angeles Times

The oarsmen were coming aboard now, for the ship was to go out into the roadstead before night fell, and sail with the ebbtide near dawn.

From Literature

Boarding suspicious vessels in the open roadstead hardened his nerves and gave an unwonted zest to his work.

From Project Gutenberg

There is no harbor, but an open roadstead; and 332 here a whole fleet of ships were riding at anchor—ships of war and merchant ships from all parts of the world.

From Project Gutenberg

For all that, nothing happened to disturb him as they followed the coast, stopping now and then at an open roadstead, and now and then in the stagnant harbor of an old Spanish town.

From Project Gutenberg

Related Words

• dock
• inlet
• pier
• port
• road
• wharf