quayward

quayward adverb: towards a quay; in the direction of a quay.

Adverb

quayward (not comparable)

(uncommon) Towards a quay; in the direction of a quay.
- All down the quays vessels moored after their fashion—bows quayward, sterns outward; an arrangement giving an immense number of ships each its own small share of landing.1886 April, Charles W. Wood, “Under Northern Skies”, in The Argosy, volume XLI, pages 292-293
- The surf was plunging and leaping over the great break-water before the harbour, and our small shore boat danced like a cork even inside, now cocking her stern, now her bows, as she crept quayward through the shipping.1912, Arthur Waltham Howlett, “Pendant Jewel of India”, in Many Camps: Sketches of Indian Life, Allahabad [now Prayagraj]: The Pioneer Press, page 63

quayward (not comparable)

(uncommon) Being in or facing towards a quay.
- Now in the crowded noon, sustained a pediment by the shuffle and whisper of adulation that came up over as on the quayward side, he seemed to give the lie to these speculations.1920 October, Wilbur Daniel Steele, “At Two-in-the-Bush”, in Harper's Magazine, volume CXLI, number DCCCXLV, page 579, column 1
- The floor slopes from quayward side of the shed up to railway lines at the back of the shed, where it reaches full ordinary platform height.1947 May, R. P. Biddle, “Port Facilities and their Operation at Southampton”, in The Dock and Harbour Authority, volume XXVIII, number 319, page 28, column 2

From quay + -ward.

What does quayward mean?: Quayward means towards a quay; in the direction of a quay.
What part of speech is quayward?: Quayward can be an adverb or an adjective.

Adapted from Wiktionary: quayward (page history and authors). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.

Last updated: 2026-09-02

Cite this entry: “quayward.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/quayward. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.