wharf

noun

ˈ(h)wȯrf 

plural wharves ˈ(h)wȯrvz  also wharfs

1

: a structure built along or at an angle from the shore of navigable waters so that ships may lie alongside to receive and discharge cargo and passengers

2

obsolete : the bank of a river or the shore of the sea

Synonyms

• dock
• pier
• quay

Examples of wharf in a Sentence

tied the rowboat up at the wharf

Recent Examples on the Web

In the 2007-08 fiscal year, the port authority increased fees for five major services, including tugboats, water supply, wharf rent, container storage and container loading and unloading. —Glenn Taylor, Sourcing Journal, 15 Oct. 2025

One day in April, Noone and I rode a ferry from downtown Sydney to Manly, where Young met us on the wharf. —Eren Orbey, New Yorker, 13 Oct. 2025

The project at AltaSea, a nonprofit ocean institute at the port, involves a row of large blue floaters in the water, attached to infrastructure on the wharf, that move up and down with wave action to create energy. —Michael Smolens, San Diego Union-Tribune, 12 Oct. 2025

Workers have finished constructing the large yellow capsule on a wharf near Shanghai. —Aamir Khollam, Interesting Engineering, 3 Oct. 2025

Word History

Etymology

Middle English, from Old English hwearf embankment, wharf; akin to Old English hweorfan to turn, Old High German hwerban, Greek karpos wrist

First Known Use

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

Rhymes for wharf

• dwarf
• morph
• orf
• polymorph

Kids Definition

wharf

noun

ˈhwȯrf 

ˈwȯrf

plural wharves ˈhwȯrvz 

ˈwȯrvz

also wharfs

: a structure built on the shore at which ships can load and unload