wharf

[ wawrf, hwawrf ]

noun

, plural wharves [wawrvz, hwawrvz], wharfs.

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.

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

/ 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 wharves
   the working area of a dock
3. an obsolete word for shore 1

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

Word History and Origins

Origin of wharf¹

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

Word History and Origins

Origin of wharf¹

Old English hwearf heap; related to Old Saxon hwarf, Old High German hwarb a turn, Old Norse hvarf circle

Example Sentences

The new theatre, which is part of the Cardiff Live development, will be built on a site next to the planned £250m Cardiff Indoor Arena in Atlantic Wharf.

From BBC

Families arrived at Disneyland Paris on Friday evening after setting off from Canary Wharf earlier that day.

From BBC

Early on Friday morning as the black cabs left Canary Wharf, the Royal British Legion band played music as they began their journey.

From BBC

Peskin represents some of the city’s most historic neighborhoods, including North Beach, Chinatown, Fisherman’s Wharf and downtown’s Financial District.

From Los Angeles Times

Social media users shared pictures of the "massive fire", which can be seen from the carpark of Weavers Wharf Shopping Centre.

From BBC

Related Words

• berth
• dock
• jetty
• levee
• pier