Home / Dictionary / Ferry

Ferry Very Common

Ferry has 8 different meanings across 3 categories:

Noun · Verb · Proper Noun

Definitions
Noun
1

a boat that transports people or vehicles across a body of water and operates on a regular schedule

"The morning ferry carries commuters and their cars from Manhattan to Brooklyn every hour on the dot."

2

transport by boat or aircraft

"The passengers boarded the ferry to cross the river and reach the city on the other side."

3

A ship used to transport people, smaller vehicles and goods from one port to another, usually on a regular schedule.

"The morning ferry arrived at the dock just in time to carry commuters and their cars across the river before rush hour ended."

In plain English: A ferry is a boat that carries people and vehicles back and forth across water between two places on land.

"We took the ferry across to visit our cousins on the other side of the river."

Verb
1

transport from one place to another

"The old boat will ferry passengers across the river every hour during the summer season."

2

transport by ferry

"We spent the morning ferrying passengers across the river to reach the festival grounds."

3

travel by ferry

"We spent an hour waiting in line to ferry across the channel."

4

To carry; transport; convey.

"The old boatman used to ferry goods across the river every morning before his business opened."

In plain English: To ferry something means to transport people or goods from one place to another, usually by boat across water.

"The small boat ferries tourists across the river every hour during the summer season."

Usage: Use the verb form of ferry when describing the act of transporting passengers or cargo across water by boat, as in "they ferried tourists between islands." This usage specifically implies movement via a vessel rather than general land-based transportation methods like driving or walking.

Proper Noun
1

A surname​.

"Captain Ferry is renowned in our local sailing community for his decades of experience on the lake."

Example Sentences
"We took the ferry across to visit our cousins on the other side of the river." noun
"The ferry crossed the river every hour during rush hour." noun
"We waited on the dock for the morning ferry to arrive." noun
"His job involved driving passengers and cars back and forth on the ferry." noun
"The small boat ferries tourists across the river every hour during the summer season." verb
See Also
boat cargo passenger master ship cars transport ferrying
Related Terms
Broader Terms (hypernyms)
boat transportation bring transport travel
Narrower Terms (hyponyms)
car-ferry

Origin

From Middle English ferien ("to carry, convey, convey in a boat"), from Old English ferian ("to carry, convey, bear, bring, lead, conduct, betake oneself to, be versed in, depart, go"), from Proto-West Germanic farjan, from Proto-Germanic farjaną ("to make or let go, transfer, ferry"), from Proto-Indo-European *per- ("to bring or carry over, transfer, pass through").

Rhyming Words
rry arry erry urry orry harry perry lurry jarry larry worry marry merry jerry durry corry furry hurry kerry gurry
Compare
Ferry vs