dockyard

IPA/ˈdɒkjɑːd/
KK[dˈɑkjˌɑrd]IPA/ˈdɑːkjɑːrd/

dockyard — noun

  • dockyardsingular
  • dockyardsplural

1. a large waterside work area where people make new ships and fix damaged ones

1.nounC1
Definition

a large waterside work area where people make new ships and fix damaged ones

Example

Jude began his first week at the dockyard, painting numbers on a ferry.

work at a dockyard

Hoa watched workers pull a damaged fishing boat into the dockyard.

pull a boat into the dockyard

Common collocations
  • dockyard fence
  • dockyard workers
  • return to the dockyard
  • work at a dockyard
Synonyms
  • shipyard

    very close in meaning; often the more general everyday word

  • naval yard

    narrower; used mainly for a military shipbuilding or repair site

Grammar Patterns

work at a dockyard

return to the dockyard

dockyard workers

Usage Note

Usually refers to a large waterside place with docks, cranes, and repair areas for ships. Distinguish it from dock, which can mean one landing place or the structure where a ship is loaded, unloaded, or repaired.

Common Mistakes

The yacht is waiting at the dockyard.
The yacht is waiting at the dock.
a dockyard is the whole shipbuilding or repair area, while a dock is one place where a ship stops.

Word family

  • dock
    nounB2
  • shipyard
    nounC1

Synonym discussion

Sense: noun/1

Dockyard and shipyard are very close in meaning: both name a waterside place where ships are built or repaired. Dockyard is often used in British English and can suggest a large working area with several docks and support buildings. Shipyard is the more general word and is common in both British and American English. A dock is smaller in meaning: it is one place where a ship stops, loads, unloads, or is repaired. A harbour is broader still, referring to the protected water area and port facilities, not specifically the building and repair site. A ship can enter a harbour, tie up at a dock, and then be moved to a dockyard for major work.

dockyard ↗shipyarddock ↗harbour ↗

Common collocations

Nouns

  • dockyard fence
  • dockyard gate
  • dockyard workers
  • dockyard repairs

Phrases

  • return to the dockyard
  • work at a dockyard

Prepositions

  • at the dockyard
  • into the dockyard
  • to the dockyard

Etymology

English

Dockyard was formed in English by joining dock and yard. A dock is the place where a ship can come in for loading, unloading, or repair, and yard here means a working area or enclosed piece of land. Together, the word came to mean the whole waterside place where ships are built or repaired.