berth UK /bɜːθ/US /bɜɹθ/noun 13verb 7forms 3phrases 1 noun13 •A 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 •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. •(figurative) 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. — 1830 •A 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 •A bunk or other bed for sleeping on in a caravan, a train, etc. •A place for a vehicle on land to park. •(figurative) A position or seed in a tournament bracket. •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. — 1840 •(figurative) 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. — 1720 •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. — 1816 •(figurative) A position on a field of play. •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. •(slang, figurative) A proper place for a thing. verb7 •To bring (a ship or other vessel) into a berth; also, to provide a berth for (a vessel). •To use a device to bring (a spacecraft) into its berth or dock. •[with oneself] 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. — 1886 •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. •(figurative) To provide (someone) with a berth or appointment, job, or position. •(no longer used, historical) Chiefly in shipbuilding: to construct (a ship or part of it) using wooden boards or planks; to board, to plank. formsberthed · berthing · berths Phrases with berth wide berthAdequate distance from sea vessels or other objects to ensure safety and maneuverability.
