wharfage

wharf·age
W4H4A1R1F4A1G2E1
UK/ˈwɔː.fɪd͡ʒ/UK[ˈwɔː.fɪd͡ʒ]UK/ˈʍɔː.fɪd͡ʒ/UK[ˈʍɔː.fɪd͡ʒ]

noun

A dock, quay, or pier.

RareScrabble 18

Meanings

nounwharfage (countable and uncountable, plural wharfages)

plural wharfages

  1. countableuncountableA dock, quay, or pier.

    Synonyms: dockage

  2. countableuncountableWharfs collectively.

    It was also pointed out wharfage and factory sites with river and canal frontage were adjoining.

    1940 May, “The Why and the Wherefore: The Coley Branch, G.W.R.”, in Railway Magazine, page 317
    1 more example

    It is pleasant to swim well out into the stream of the river, and, with one’s chin on a level with the wide stretch of water, take in a “trout’s-eye view” of the little town, ascending in tiers of wharfage, trees, grey ramparts, more trees, and clustered roofs, with the old cathedral of the Trinity poised guardian-like above the crumbling walls of the Kremlin.

    1924, Saki, “The Old Town of Pskoff”, in The Square Egg and Other Sketches, London: John Lane, page 156

    Synonyms: dockage

  3. countableuncountableA fee charged for using a wharf.

    the wharfage or shorage rates are 10 cents per cord of wood, 10 cents per thousand feet of lumber, and 1 cent per tie, and these rates do not include handling

    1913, United States. Army. Corps of Engineers, Water terminal and transfer facilities, page 537
    1 more example

    If the owner of goods deposited at a wharf sells them, and gives notice to the wharfinger of such sale, on tendering the wharfage then due, he is discharged from liability for future wharfage.

    1895, John Houston Merrill, The American and English Encyclopedia of Law, page 100

    Synonyms: dockage

Synonyms & antonyms

nounA dock, quay, or pier.

Similar

nounWharfs collectively.

Similar

nounA fee charged for using a wharf.

Similar

More synonyms by meaning

nouna fee charged for the use of a wharf or quay

Similar
Broader

nouna platform built out from the shore into the water and supported by piles; provides access to ships and boats

Broader

Synonym sets from Open English WordNet, CC BY 4.0.

Origin

  1. Proto-Germanic*hwerbaną
  2. Proto-West Germanic*hwerban
  3. Old Englishhweorfan
  4. Middle Englishwharf
  5. Middle Englishwharfage
  6. Englishwharfage

From Middle English wharfage; equivalent to wharf + -age.

Full word history & related roots →
Cite this entry
APA

wharfage. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/wharfage

MLA

“wharfage.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/wharfage. Accessed November 3, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “wharfage,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/wharfage.

Source: wharfage on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.