ferried; ferrying
1
a
: to carry by boat over a body of water
b
: to cross by a ferry
2
a
: to convey (as by aircraft or motor vehicle) from one place to another : transport
b
: to fly (an airplane) from the factory or other shipping point to a designated delivery point or from one base to another
: to cross water in a boat
plural ferries
1
: a place where persons or things are carried across a body of water (such as a river) in a boat
2
3
: a franchise or right to operate a ferry service across a body of water
4
: an organized service and route for flying airplanes especially across a sea or continent for delivery to the user
Examples of ferry in a Sentence
Verb
The cars were ferried across the river.
They ferry supplies to the island.
Noun
Ferries to both islands depart daily.
You can get there by ferry.
We'll meet you at the ferry.
Recent Examples on the Web
Jessi Jezewska Stevens, The Dial, 24 Apr. 2025
The prison's staff lived on the island with their families, and children were ferried to San Francisco on school days, according to the National Park Service.
—Bill Chappell, NPR, 5 May 2025
Miya Lee, New York Times, 21 May 2025
The easiest life to imagine was the life of the man who ran the ferry.
—Patricia Lockwood, New Yorker, 18 May 2025
See All Example Sentences for ferry
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Verb
Can hospital patients and the elderly be efficiently ferried to the bunkers that have been built specially for them?
—Jessi Jezewska Stevens, The Dial, 24 Apr. 2025
The prison's staff lived on the island with their families, and children were ferried to San Francisco on school days, according to the National Park Service.
—Bill Chappell, NPR, 5 May 2025
Noun
After stopping by two monuments — the Slocum Memorial Fountain, which commemorates the victims of a 1904 ferry fire, and the Temperance Fountain, installed in 1888 to encourage people to drink water instead of alcohol — the walk was coming to a close.
—Miya Lee, New York Times, 21 May 2025
The easiest life to imagine was the life of the man who ran the ferry.
—Patricia Lockwood, New Yorker, 18 May 2025
See All Example Sentences for ferry
Cite this Entry
“Ferry.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/ferry. Accessed 29 May. 2025.
Copy CitationKids Definition
ferry
1 of 2 verb
fer·ry
ˈfer-ē 
ferried; ferrying
1
a
: to carry by boat over a body of water
b
: to cross by a ferry
2
a
: to carry (as by aircraft or motor vehicle) from one place to another
b
: to deliver (an airplane) by flying it to its destination
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