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Glite Dictionary
to berth at the dock

to berth at the dock

6.3
To move a ship into a dock and tie it there
  • phrasal verb
  • /bɜrθ æt ðə dɑk/
translation icon : atracar
  • The ship will berth at the dock at noon.

Examples

  • We watched the massive cruise liner berth at the dock early in the morning.

  • The captain skillfully berthed at the dock despite the strong winds.

  • Once the ferry berthed at the dock, passengers began to disembark.

  • Did the cargo ship berth at the dock yesterday?

  • Once the ferry berthed at the dock, passengers began to disembark.

  • The captain skillfully berthed at the dock despite the strong winds.

  • We watched the massive cruise liner berth at the dock early in the morning.

Synonyms

to dock
vsto berth at the dock
91 2.8

To bring a boat to a platform at the water and tie it up

is the vessel arriving on its own rather than being brought by others
to moor
vsto berth at the dock
  • Specialized
11 5.1

To tie a boat so it does not move

applies when a vessel arrives in port rather than when it is fixed elsewhere

Antonyms

to depart
176 1.3

To leave a place to start a journey

to unmoor
1 8.3

To release a boat or ship from its ropes so it can move

How Secure

to moor
  • Specialized
11 5.1
to berth at the dock
6.3
to dock
91 2.8

Surface Forms

berth at the dock infinitive
berthed at the dock past
berthed at the dock past participle
berthing at the dock present participle
berths at the dock third person singular

Morphology

berth + at + the + dock

The meaning is directly compositional: the verb 'berth' (to bring/secure a vessel in a berth) combined with the locative phrase 'at the dock' yields 'to come into a dock and secure in place'. This follows a standard verb + prepositional phrase pattern and is cross-linguistically straightforward, so a B1 learner who knows the constituent words would be able to derive the meaning.

Etymology

Berth at the dock comes from the old idea of a berth as a ship's bed or resting place. So to berth at the dock is like parking the ship in its resting spot at the dock, which is why it means 'to come into a dock and be secured'.