wharf /Ê°wÉ”rf, wÉ”rf/ Pronunciation Key - Show Spelled Pronunciation[hwawrf, wawrf] Pronunciation Key - Show IPA Pronunciation noun, plural wharves /Ê°wÉ”rvz, wÉ”rvz/ Pronunciation Key - Show Spelled Pronunciation[hwawrvz, wawrvz] Pronunciation Key - Show IPA Pronunciation, wharfs, verb –noun 1. 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. 2. Obsolete. a. a riverbank. b. the shore of the sea. –verb (used with object) 3. to provide with a wharf or wharves. 4. to place or store on a wharf: The schedule allowed little time to wharf the cargo. 5. to accommodate at or bring to a wharf: The new structure will wharf several vessels. –verb (used without object) 6. to tie up at a wharf; dock: The ship wharfed in the early morning. pier /pɪər/ Pronunciation Key - Show Spelled Pronunciation[peer] Pronunciation Key - Show IPA Pronunciation –noun 1. a structure built on posts extending from land out over water, used as a landing place for ships, an entertainment area, a strolling place, etc.; jetty. 2. (in a bridge or the like) a support for the ends of adjacent spans. 3. a square pillar. 4. a portion of wall between doors, windows, etc. 5. a pillar or post on which a gate or door is hung. 6. a support of masonry, steel, or the like for sustaining vertical pressure. 7. a long passageway or corridor that extends from a central area of a building, esp. one at an airport that leads to boarding gates. dock1 /dÉ’k/ Pronunciation Key - Show Spelled Pronunciation[dok] Pronunciation Key - Show IPA Pronunciation –noun 1. a landing pier. 2. the space or waterway between two piers or wharves, as for receiving a ship while in port. 3. such a waterway, enclosed or open, together with the surrounding piers, wharves, etc. 4. dry dock. 5. a platform for loading and unloading trucks, railway freight cars, etc. 6. an airplane hangar or repair shed. 7. Also called scene dock. a place in a theater near the stage or beneath the floor of the stage for the storage of scenery. –verb (used with object) 8. to bring (a ship or boat) into a dock; lay up in a dock. 9. to place in dry dock, as for repairs, cleaning, or painting. 10. to join (a space vehicle) with another or with a space station in outer space. –verb (used without object) 11. to come or go into a dock or dry dock. 12. (of two space vehicles) to join together in outer space.