wharves

[ hwawrvz, wawrvz ]
/ ʰwɔrvz, wɔrvz /
SEE SYNONYMS FOR wharves ON THESAURUS.COM

noun

a plural of wharf.

Words nearby wharves

wharton, wharton's duct, wharton's jelly, wharton, edith, wharve, wharves, what, what about, what do you know, what do you take me for?, what for

Definition for wharves (2 of 3)

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.
  1. a riverbank.
  2. 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.

Origin of wharf

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

WORDS THAT MAY BE CONFUSED WITH wharf

dock harbor pier wharf

Definition for wharves (3 of 3)

wharve
[ hwawrv, wawrv ]
/ ʰwɔrv, wɔrv /

noun

Spinning. a wheel or round piece of wood on a spindle, serving as a flywheel or as a pulley.

Origin of wharve

before 1000; Middle English wherve, Old English hweorfa; derivative of hwerfan to revolve

Words related to wharves

dock, berth, pier, jetty, levee, breakwater, quay, slip, landing

Example sentences from the Web for wharves

British Dictionary definitions for wharves (1 of 2)

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

British Dictionary definitions for wharves (2 of 2)

wharve
/ (wɔːv) /

noun

a wooden disc or wheel on a shaft serving as a flywheel or pulley

Word Origin for wharve

Old English hweorfa, from hweorfan to revolve; related to Old Saxon hwervo axis, Old High German hwerbo a turn