ferry

1 of 2

verb

fer·​ry ˈfer-ē How to pronounce ferry (audio)
ˈfe-rē
ferried; ferrying

transitive verb

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

intransitive verb

: to cross water in a boat

ferry

2 of 2

noun

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
Verb
Large ships will dock at the pier and offload their cargo to smaller vessels, which would ferry shipments to the causeway and from there into Gaza. Nabih Bulos, Los Angeles Times, 12 Mar. 2024 Ice Spice surveyed a tray of burgers, which were ferried around the room by servers, before opting to pass for the moment. Angelique Jackson, Variety, 11 Mar. 2024 Related Articles Later in the Plus levels, Mario will have to ferry not only a key but also the Mini Mario that carries it. Gieson Cacho, The Mercury News, 1 Mar. 2024 As a small child, Rono fell off a bicycle that his uncle was riding to ferry him from his grandmother’s house, snapping his right ankle in the spinning spokes. Alex Williams, New York Times, 24 Feb. 2024 Low-slung cable cars ferried skiers to the mountaintop, casting moving shadows over the families wandering through the town. Nadia Beard, The New Yorker, 9 Feb. 2024 Such sponge cities buck centuries of traditional urban planning, in which streets were designed to ferry away water as quickly as possible to prevent flooding. Matt Simon, WIRED, 24 Jan. 2024 The goal of the mission is to ferry Dyson to the station for a six-month tour of duty and to deliver a fresh Soyuz for Kononenko and Chub, who are midway through a yearlong stay in space. William Harwood, CBS News, 2 Mar. 2024 Revelers, some of whom will be ferried in on charter flights from New Delhi and Mumbai, will also visit Anant’s passion project — an animal rescue and rehabilitation center housing hundreds of elephants, crocodiles, tigers and lions. Anto Antony, Fortune Asia, 1 Mar. 2024
Noun
Just 43 miles south of Krabi International Airport, the property can be accessed via a 15-minute ferry crossing from the mainland. Patricia Doherty, Travel + Leisure, 18 Mar. 2024 The three most popular (and largest) islands to explore are Orcas, San Juan, and Lopez—all easily accessible by ferry. Jamie Spain, Condé Nast Traveler, 18 Mar. 2024 Her lucky streak ended while trying to spot dolphins on a ferry headed to Anacapa Island off the coast of Southern California. Jessica Guynn, USA TODAY, 7 Mar. 2024 The ferry port of Piraeus will also see new hotel launches and significant development. Jim Dobson, Forbes, 2 Mar. 2024 In 2001, a ferry service was launched between Kinmen and Xiamen, the closest city on the Chinese coast. Eric Cheung, CNN, 29 Feb. 2024 Fisher Island, where wealthy residents depend on a ferry station off the MacArthur, has also pushed back on the plan. Aaron Leibowitz, Miami Herald, 21 Feb. 2024 The signs innocuously report that the Mason family ran a ferry business and established a plantation on the island. Sue Eisenfeld, Smithsonian Magazine, 7 Feb. 2024 Daufuskie is accessible only by boat (the official ferry offers four shuttles from Bluffton a day, five on Fridays), which is likely one of the reasons its 500 or so residents have been able to so carefully preserve its natural environment and its rich Gullah history. Betsy Cribb Watson, Southern Living, 6 Mar. 2024

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'ferry.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

Etymology

Verb

Middle English ferien, from Old English ferian to carry, convey; akin to Old English faran to go — more at fare

First Known Use

Verb

before the 12th century, in the meaning defined at transitive sense 1a

Noun

14th century, in the meaning defined at sense 3

Time Traveler
The first known use of ferry was before the 12th century

Dictionary Entries Near ferry

Cite this Entry

“Ferry.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/ferry. Accessed 29 Mar. 2024.

Kids Definition

ferry

1 of 2 verb
fer·​ry ˈfer-ē How to pronounce ferry (audio)
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

ferry

2 of 2 noun
plural ferries
1
: a place where persons or things are ferried
2

More from Merriam-Webster on ferry

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