wharves

noun

variants also wharfs
plural of wharf
as in docks
a structure used by boats and ships for taking on or landing cargo and passengers tied the rowboat up at the wharf

Synonyms & Similar Words

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Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of wharves But in 1820, Shippingport had about 600 residents, three wharves for steamboats, taverns and a flour mill. — Leo Bertucci, Louisville Courier Journal, 16 Aug. 2026 The redevelopment would change that by extending and upgrading existing wharves and dredging areas around the docks. — David Nikel, Forbes.com, 9 Aug. 2026 Shaking from a quake could damage wharves, piers, buildings and roadway above the seawall. — Los Angeles Times, 20 July 2026 Vanuatu has received large loans and aid from China for buildings, wharves and other infrastructure. — ABC News, 29 June 2026 In San Isidro, a movement was born Castillo and Otero grew up in San Isidro, a working class, hardscrabble neighborhood abutting the wharfs near the Port of Havana, and became friends – one a rapper, the other a visual artist. — Rick Jervis, USA Today, 13 May 2026 The wharves and warehouses along Pratt Street burned fiercely. — Jacques Kelly, Baltimore Sun, 7 Feb. 2026 Maybe wind your way around the neighborhood’s old wharfs and small brick houses; or lock up your bike and check out an exhibition at the Brooklyn Waterfront Artists Coalition, then grab lunch at the kitschy crab shack Brooklyn Crab. — Francesca Carington, Condé Nast Traveler, 18 Jan. 2024 His plantations spanned nearly 7,000 acres near the Cooper River, which led to Charleston’s bustling wharves and the Atlantic Ocean beyond. — Jennifer Berry Hawes, ProPublica, 16 June 2023
Recent Examples of Synonyms for wharves
  1. docks
  2. piers
  3. quays
Noun
  • The legacy of The Beatles has helped transform Liverpool into a culture and nightlife destination, reviving the city’s economy after decades of decline following the closure of its docks.
    — ABC News, ABC News, 20 Oct. 2026
  • Hurricane Betsy in 1965 knocked the building off its pilings and destroyed two rooms, hundreds of feet of docks and other property.
    — Miami Herald, Miami Herald, 16 Oct. 2026
Definition of docks
Noun
  • Extreme waves that winter destroyed one-third of the Santa Monica Pier and tore off large sections of the Huntington Beach Pier and the Paradise Cove Pier, while also damaging the Seal Beach, San Clemente and Malibu piers.
    — Gary Griggs, The Conversation, 21 Oct. 2026
  • The county maintains the underwater land that would house the marina piers is part of the same piece of real estate as the upland Seaquarium property.
    — Douglas Hanks, Miami Herald, 21 Oct. 2026
Definition of piers
Noun
  • Wine is embedded in the city’s architecture, history and daily life, from grand 18th-century façades to the bustling quays of the Garonne.
    — Joanne Shurvell, Forbes.com, 29 Jan. 2026
  • According to Vantor, the image shows the construction of a dry dock and new quays and piers at one of China’s most strategically important bases.
    — Chris Young, Interesting Engineering, 8 Dec. 2025
Definition of quays

Browse Nearby Words

wharfages
wharves
what
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Cite this Entry

“Wharves.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/wharves. Accessed 29 Oct. 2026.

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