berth
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berth¹
- /bɜːθ/ Australia, UK
- /bɜɹθ/ US
- /bɛɹθ/ Scotland
- /bøːθ/ New Zealand
- /beːθ/
- /bɛːθ/
Sounds like birth (fern–fir–fur merger) · Rhymes with -ɜː(ɹ)θ
Where it comes from
The noun is derived from Late Middle English birth (“(nautical) bearing away or off, clearance, berth”). Further etymology uncertain, but probably from beren (“to carry (away), bear”) + -th (suffix denoting a condition, quality, state of being, etc., forming nouns); if so, the English word is analysable as bear + -th (suffix forming nouns from verbs), and is a piecewise doublet of birth.
The verb is derived from the noun.
noun berths · birth · byrth
- A place for a vessel to lie at anchor or to moor. 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 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. 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
- A place on a vessel to sleep, especially a bed on the side of a cabin. 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?'
- A 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.
- An 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.
- A bunk or other bed for sleeping on in a caravan, a train, etc. 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
- A place for a vehicle on land to park.
- An appointment, job, or position, especially one regarded as comfortable or good. 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.
- Chiefly in wide berth: a sufficient space for manoeuvring or safety. The road was very narrow, with no opportunity of giving the apparent phantom what seamen call a wide birth.
- A 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; […]
- A position or seed in a tournament bracket. 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 p
- A 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.
verb berths · berthing · berthed
-
To bring (a ship or other vessel) into a berth (noun etymology 1, noun sense 1.1); also, to provide a berth for (a vessel).
"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; […]
Opposite: unberth
-
To use a device to bring (a spacecraft) into its berth or dock.
Opposite: unberth
- To 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.
- To provide (someone) with a berth (noun etymology 1, noun sense 3.1) or appointment, job, or position.
- Of a vessel: to move into a berth.
- Of 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.
berth²
- /bɜːθ/ Australia, UK
- /bɜɹθ/ US
- /bɛɹθ/ Scotland
- /bøːθ/ New Zealand
- /beːθ/
- /bɛːθ/
Sounds like birth (fern–fir–fur merger) · Rhymes with -ɜː(ɹ)θ
Where it comes from
Possibly borrowed from Icelandic byrði (“side of a ship, board”).
verb berths · berthing · berthed
- Chiefly in shipbuilding: to construct (a ship or part of it) using wooden boards or planks; to board, to plank. 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 ke
Thesaurus
Closest in meaning: mooring, moorage, slot, place, bunk, slip, spot, moor, position, post, situation, office, cab, parking, port, berthage
Translations
Every language
noun (nautical) sufficient space in the water for a ship or other vessel to lie at anchor or manoeuvre; (figurative) sufficient room or space for manoeuvring or safe
| Français | marge de manœuvre |
|---|
noun (nautical) place for a vessel to lie at anchor or to moor; (road transport) place for a vehicle on land to park
| Español | amarradero, embarcadero |
|---|---|
| 中文 | 泊位 bówèi |
| Português | vaga |
| Français | anneau d'amarrage, bitte, poste d'amarrage |
| Deutsch | Bootssteg, Ladeplatz, Landesteg, Landungsplatz, Liegeplatz |
| Italiano | attracco |
| Русский | я́корное ме́сто jákornoje mésto, ме́сто mésto, прича́л pričál |
noun (nautical) job or position on a vessel; (figurative) appointment, job, or position — see also appointment, job, position
| Русский | до́лжность dólžnostʹ, ме́сто mésto |
|---|
noun (nautical) place on a vessel to sleep; (by extension) bunk or other bed for sleeping on in a caravan, a train, etc.
| Español | catre |
|---|---|
| 日本語 | バース bāsu, 寝台 shindai |
| 中文 | 床位 chuángwèi |
| हिन्दी | बर्थ barth |
| Português | camarote |
| Français | couchette |
| Deutsch | Koje, Schlafplatz |
| Italiano | cuccetta |
| Română | cușetă |
| Русский | ко́йка kójka, ме́сто mésto, по́лка pólka, спа́льное ме́сто spálʹnoje mésto |
| עברית | דרגש dargash, דרגש שנה dargash shenah |
verb to bring (a ship or other vessel) into a berth; to provide a berth for (a vessel); to use a device to bring (a spacecraft) into its berth or dock
| Español | atracar |
|---|---|
| Português | atracar |
| Deutsch | anlegen |
| Italiano | attraccare |
| Русский | прича́ливать pričálivatʹ, прича́лить pričálitʹ |
Talk about this word "berth." Wiktionary, via Micwyn, micwyn.com/word/berth. Accessed 6 Nov. 2026. berth. (n.d.). In Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Retrieved November 6, 2026, from https://micwyn.com/word/berth "berth." Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Accessed November 6, 2026. https://micwyn.com/word/berth.
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@misc{berth_2026,
title = {berth},
howpublished = {Wiktionary, via Micwyn},
year = {2026},
url = {https://micwyn.com/word/berth},
urldate = {2026-11-06}
}
