berth

plural berths · alternative birth · alternative byrth

1. Chiefly in wide berth: a sufficient space in the water for a ship or other vessel to lie at anchor or manoeuvre without getting in the way of other vessels, or colliding into rocks or the shore.
   1. broadlynauticalA place for a vessel to lie at anchor or to moor.

      Hard on the heels of the last Ostend boat train comes the first Calais train to connect with the sailing of the Invicta from Berth 2 directly opposite the platform end.

      1959 October 28, T. W. E. Roche, “Traffic Working at Dover Marine Station”, in Railway Magazine, page 680

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      Tho' vve vvere again got near our harbour by three in the afternoon, yet it ſeemed to require a full hour or more, before vve could come to our former place of anchoring, or birth, as the captain called it.

      a. 1755 (date written), Henry Fielding, The Journal of a Voyage to Lisbon, […], London: […] A[ndrew] Millar, […], published 1755, →OCLC, page 191

      "[…] She lays close to the Endymion, between her and the Cleopatra, just to the eastward of the sheer hulk." / "Ha!" cried William, "that's just where I should have put her myself. It's the best birth at Spithead.[…]"

      1816 February 19, [Jane Austen], chapter VII, in Mansfield Park: […], 2nd edition, volume III, London: […] [Thomas Davison] for J[ohn] Murray, […], →OCLC, page 151

      The voyage was a skilful and lucky one; and returning to her berth with her hold full of the precious sperm, the Amelia's example was soon followed by other ships, English and American, and thus the vast Sperm Whale grounds of the Pacific were thrown open.

      1851 November 14, Herman Melville, “The Decanter”, in Moby-Dick; or, The Whale, 1st American edition, New York, N.Y.: Harper & Brothers; London: Richard Bentley, →OCLC, pages 493–494

   2. broadlynauticalA room in a vessel in which the officers or company mess (“eat together”) and reside; also, a room or other place in a vessel for storage.

      But not only was this the first day that Jack may be said to have appeared in the service, but it was the first day in which he had entered the midshipman's berth, and was made acquainted with his messmates.

      1836, [Frederick Marryat], “Showing how Jack transgresses against his own philosophy”, in Mr. Midshipman Easy […], volume I, London: Saunders and Otley, […], →OCLC, pages 141–142

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      And vvhen he had ſhevvn me their birth (as he called it) I vvas filled vvith aſtoniſhment and horror.—VVe deſcended by divers ladders to a ſpace as dark as a dungeon, vvhich I underſtood vvas immerſed ſeveral feet under vvater, being immediately above the hold: I had no ſooner approached this diſmal gulph, than my noſe vvas ſaluted vvith an intolerable ſtench of putrified cheeſe, and rancid butter, […]

      1748, [Tobias Smollett], “I am Reduced to Great Misery—Assaulted on Tower-hill by a Press-gang, who Put Me on Board a Tender—My Usage there—My Arrival on Board of the Thunder Man of War, […]”, in The Adventures of Roderick Random. […], volume I, London: […] [William Strahan] for J[ohn] Osborn […], →OCLC, page 226

   3. broadlynauticalA place on a vessel to sleep, especially a bed on the side of a cabin.

      By what I then thought to be great good luck I had succeeded in getting a three-berth cabin for myself and my little boy alone—Nos. 45, 46, 47—on the starboard side of the ship.

      1885 December, [Alice Kipling], “The Haunted Cabin”, in Quartette, the Christmas Annual of the Civil & Military Gazette, Lahore, British India: The “Civil and Military Gazette” Press, →OCLC, page 41

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      Passengers their births are clapt in, / Some to grumble, some to spew. / 'Hey day! call you that a cabin? / Why 'tis hardly three feet square; / Not enough to stow Queen Mab in— / Who the deuce can harbour there?'

      1809 June 30, Lord Byron, “Letter XXXVI. To Mr. Hodgson.”, in Thomas Moore, editor, Letters and Journals of Lord Byron: With Notices of His Life, […], volume I, London: John Murray, […], published 1830, →OCLC, stanza 3, page 191

      Just at this moment, in crossing the forecastle, one of the men saw a light below, and looking down the scuttle, saw the watch all out of their berths, and afoul of one poor fellow, dragging him out of his berth, and shaking him, to wake him out of a nightmare.

      1840, R[ichard] H[enry] D[ana], Jr., chapter XXX, in Two Years before the Mast. […] (Harper’s Family Library; no. CVI), New York, N.Y.: Harper & Brothers […], →OCLC, page 367

      All dressed and dusty as he is, Jonah throws himself into his berth, and finds the little state-room ceiling almost resting on his forehead. […] The lamp alarms and frightens Jonah; as lying in his berth his tormented eyes roll round the place, and this thus far successful fugitive finds no refuge for his restless glance.

      1851 November 14, Herman Melville, “The Sermon”, in Moby-Dick; or, The Whale, 1st American edition, New York, N.Y.: Harper & Brothers; London: Richard Bentley, →OCLC, page 48

   4. broadlynauticalA job or position on a vessel.

      He was now a temperate man for life, and capable of filling any berth in a ship, and many a high station there is on shore which is held by a meaner man.

      1840, R[ichard] H[enry] D[ana], Jr., chapter XXIII, in Two Years before the Mast. […] (Harper’s Family Library; no. CVI), New York, N.Y.: Harper & Brothers […], →OCLC, page 247

2. broadlyAn assigned place for a person in (chiefly historical) a horse-drawn coach or other means of transportation, or (military) in a barracks.

   [W]ith worldly wisdom, the first comer hastens to secure the best birth in the coach for himself, and to make the most convenient arrangement for his baggage before the arrival of his competitor.

   1816, [Walter Scott], chapter I, in The Antiquary. […], volume I, Edinburgh: […] James Ballantyne and Co. for Archibald Constable and Co.; London: Longman, Hurst, Rees, Orme, and Brown, →OCLC, pages 6–7

3. broadlyA bunk or other bed for sleeping on in a caravan, a train, etc.

   It is realised that the old Pullman standard sleeper, with its convertible "sections", each containing upper and lower berths, and with no greater privacy at night than the curtains drawn along both sides of a middle aisle, has had its day.

   1944 November–December, “‘Duplex Roomette’ Sleeping Cars”, in The Railway Magazine, London: Tothill Press, →ISSN, →OCLC, page 324

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   Some passengers boarded the train there and I heard a woman's low tones, a southern voice, rich and full. Then quiet again. Every nerve was tense: time passed, perhaps ten minutes, possibly half an hour. Then, without the slightest warning, as the train rounded a curve, a heavy body was thrown into my berth.

   1909, Mary Roberts Rinehart, “A Torn Telegram”, in The Man in Lower Ten, New York, N.Y.: Grosset & Dunlap, →OCLC, page 27

4. broadlyroadA place for a vehicle on land to park.
5. figurativelyAn appointment, job, or position, especially one regarded as comfortable or good.

   Howsomever, I 'll do the very best I can in gettin' Tom a good berth; as to my treatin' on him bad, you need n't be a grain afeard.

   1851 June – 1852 April, Harriet Beecher Stowe, “An Evening in Uncle Tom’s Cabin”, in Uncle Tom’s Cabin; or, Life among the Lowly, volume I, Boston, Mass.: John P[unchard] Jewett & Company; Cleveland, Oh.: Jewett, Proctor & Worthington, published 20 March 1852, →OCLC, page 53

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   He vvas a Surgeon, and they called him Doctor; but he vvas not employed in the Sloop as a Surgeon, but vvas going to Berbadoes to get a Birth, as the Sailors call it.

   1720, [Daniel Defoe], The Life, Adventures, and Pyracies, of the Famous Captain Singleton, London: […] J[ohn] Brotherton, […], J[ohn] Graves […], A[nne] Dodd, […], and T[homas] Warner, […], →OCLC, page 186

   [Y]ou have got a good vvarm birth here; but vve ſhall beat up your quarters. Here, Lucy, Moll, come to the fire, and dry your trumpery.

   1778, [Frances Burney], “Letter XVI. Evelina to the Rev. Mr. Villars.”, in Evelina, or, A Young Lady’s Entrance into the World, volume I, London: […] T[homas] Lowndes, […], →OCLC, page 103

   How glad I am that he has got a snug berth in the City! His company really prospers, I am happy to think, unlike some companies you know of, Pen.

   1855, Arthur Pendennis [pseudonym; William Makepeace Thackeray], “Belisarius”, in The Newcomes: Memoirs of a Most Respectable Family, volume II, London: Bradbury and Evans, […], →OCLC, page 309

6. figurativelyChiefly in wide berth: a sufficient space for manoeuvring or safety.

   [W]e / Thought it but wise to keep the open sea / And give to warring lands a full wide berth; […]

   1868, William Morris, “Prologue—The Wanderers”, in The Earthly Paradise: A Poem, parts [I and II], London: F[rederick] S[tartridge] Ellis, […], →OCLC, page 17

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   The road was very narrow, with no opportunity of giving the apparent phantom what seamen call a wide birth.

   1830, Walter Scott, “Letter X”, in Letters on Demonology and Witchcraft, […], London: John Murray, […], →OCLC, page 386

   Sir Barnes Newcome, for fear of consequences that I should deplore, I recommend you to keep a wide berth of me, sir.

   1855, Arthur Pendennis [pseudonym; William Makepeace Thackeray], “In which Kinsmen Fall Out”, in The Newcomes: Memoirs of a Most Respectable Family, volume II, London: Bradbury and Evans, […], →OCLC, page 150

   Tarzan had been wont to traverse the Rue Maule on his way home at night. Because it was very quiet and very dark it reminded him more of his beloved African jungle than did the noisy and garish streets surrounding it. If you are familiar with your Paris you will recall the narrow, forbidding precincts of the Rue Maule. If you are not, you need but ask the police about it to learn that in all Paris there is no street to which you should give a wider berth after dark.

   1913 June–December, Edgar Rice Burroughs, “What Happened in the Rue Maule”, in The Return of Tarzan, New York, N.Y.: A[lbert] L[evi] Burt Company, […], published March 1915, →OCLC, page 34

7. figurativelyslangnauticalA proper place for a thing.

   [T]he Maſter-builders appoint the VVorking or Converting, as they call it, of every Piece of Timber, and give to the other Head-vvorkmen or Foremen, their Moulds for the ſquaring and cutting out of every Piece, and placing it in its proper Byrth (ſo they call it) in the Ship that is in Building; […]

   1742, [Daniel Defoe], “Letter III. Containing a Description of the County of Kent, &c.”, in A Tour thro’ the Whole Island of Great Britain. […], 3rd edition, volume I, London: […] J[ohn] Osborn, […], →OCLC, pages 140–[141]

8. figurativelyhobbiesA position or seed in a tournament bracket.

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   Rhode Island turned possession over 11 times in the attacking third, a season high in the Championship overall, and that turned into scoring opportunities. While there will be bigger challenges ahead starting this weekend away at FC Tulsa, this blueprint was a confidence-booster for the side as it pursues another postseason berth.

   2026 August 24, USLChampionship.com Staff, “11 Numbers That Defined Week 25 in the USL Championship | Talking Points”, in USL Championship, retrieved 25 Aug 2026

9. figurativelyhobbiesA position on a field of play.

   Olivier Giroud then entered the fray and [Theo] Walcott reverted to his more familiar berth on the right wing, quickly creating his side's fifth goal by crossing for Giroud to send a plunging header into the net from close range.

   2012 December 29, Paul Doyle, “Arsenal's Theo Walcott hits hat-trick in thrilling victory over Newcastle”, in Alan Rusbridger, editor, The Guardian, London: Guardian News & Media, →ISSN, →OCLC, archived from the original on 16 Aug 2022

present singular third person berths · participle present berthing · participle past berthed · past berthed

1. transitivenauticalTo bring (a ship or other vessel) into a berth (noun etymology 1, noun sense 1.1); also, to provide a berth for (a vessel).

   Further west, in Pembrokeshire, the Esso Petroleum Co. refinery at Milford Haven, opened last November, is designed to berth the world's largest tankers and to process, initially, 4,500,000 tons of crude oil a year.

   1961 August, “New Traffic Flows in South Wales”, in Trains Illustrated, London: Ian Allan Publishing, →ISSN, →OCLC, page 494

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   "The Henery," being let loose to drive up the river of herself, did run up as high as the bridge, and broke down some of the rails of the bridge, and so back again with the tide, and up again, and then berthed himself so well as no pilot could ever have done better; […]

   1667 July 9 (date written; Gregorian calendar), Samuel Pepys, Mynors Bright, transcriber, “June 30th, 1667”, in Henry B[enjamin] Wheatley, editor, The Diary of Samuel Pepys […], volume VI, London: George Bell & Sons […]; Cambridge: Deighton Bell & Co., published 1895, →OCLC, page 406

   Antonyms: unberth

   1. specificallytransitivespace flightnauticalTo use a device to bring (a spacecraft) into its berth or dock.

      Antonyms: unberth

2. broadlytransitivechiefly passive voiceTo assign (someone) a berth (noun etymology 1, noun sense 1.3 or etymology 1, noun sense 2.2) or place to sleep on a vessel, a train, etc.
3. figurativelytransitiveTo provide (someone) with a berth (noun etymology 1, noun sense 3.1) or appointment, job, or position.
4. intransitivereflexivenauticalOf a vessel: to move into a berth.
5. broadlyintransitiveOf a person: to occupy a berth.

   The cabin-boy Ransome […] came in at times from the round-house, where he berthed and served, now nursing a bruised limb in silent agony, now raving against the cruelty of Mr. Shuan.

   1886 May 1 – July 31, Robert Louis Stevenson, “I Go to Sea in the Brig Covenant of Dysart”, in Kidnapped, being Memoirs of the Adventures of David Balfour in the Year 1751: […], London; Paris: Cassell & Company, published 1886, →OCLC, page 61

present singular third person berths · participle present berthing · participle past berthed · past berthed

1. archaichistoricalChiefly in shipbuilding: to construct (a ship or part of it) using wooden boards or planks; to board, to plank.

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   VVhen you haue berthed or brought her [the ship] vp to the planks, vvhich are thoſe thicke timbers vvhich goeth fore and aft on each ſide, vvhereon doth lie the beames of the firſt Orlop, vvhich is the firſt floore to ſupport the plankes doth couer the Hovvle, thoſe are great croſſe timbers, that keepes the ſhip ſides aſunder, the maine beame is euer next the maine maſt, […]

   1627, Iohn Smith [i.e., John Smith], “How to Build a Ship with the Definitions of All the Principall Names of Euery Part of her Principall Timbers, also How They are Fixed One to Another, and the Reasons of Their Vse”, in A Sea Grammar, with the Plaine Exposition of Smiths Accidence for Young Sea-men, Enlarged. […], London: […] Iohn Haviland, →OCLC, page 5