Definition

1. Noun:

   • A boat that transports people or vehicles across a body of water: A vessel that carries passengers and often cars, operating on a fixed route across a river, lake, or other stretch of water.
   • The transport service itself: The system or business of carrying people or goods by boat across a waterway.

2. Verb:

   • To transport by ferry: To carry people, vehicles, or goods across a body of water on a ferry.
   • To travel by ferry: To cross a body of water using a ferry service.

Examples

• Noun:
  • We took the ferry to the island. (We used the boat service to reach the island.)
  • The ferry departs every hour from the dock. (The boat leaves the pier on a regular schedule.)
• Verb:
  • The boat will ferry tourists across the bay. (The boat will transport tourists from one side of the bay to the other.)
  • They ferried the supplies to the remote village. (They transported the supplies by boat.)

Advanced Usage

• "To ferry someone/something around": To transport someone or something repeatedly or to various places, often implying a service.
  • The small launch ferried guests around the resort's private coves.
• "Air ferry": A service using aircraft to transport people or vehicles, typically over a short, regular route.
  • The air ferry across the channel was popular before the tunnel was built.

Variants and Related Words

• Ferryboat (n): Another term for a ferry, emphasizing the vessel itself.
  • The old ferryboat was retired after fifty years of service.
• Ferryman (n): A person who operates or works on a ferry.
  • The ferryman guided the boat safely to the other shore.

Synonyms

• Transport (v): To carry from one place to another.
• Shuttle (v): To travel back and forth regularly over a short route.

Related Phrasal Verbs

• Ferry across: To transport or be transported from one side to the other.
  • We were ferried across the river in a small rowboat.

Related Idioms

• Miss the boat/ferry: To fail to take advantage of an opportunity. (Note: "Miss the boat" is the more common idiom, but "ferry" can be used in the same structure for thematic variation).
  • If you don't apply now, you'll miss the ferry for this year's program.

Noun

1. transport by boat or aircraft
2. a boat that transports people or vehicles across a body of water and operates on a regular schedule

Verb

1. travel by ferry
2. transport by ferry
3. transport from one place to another