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Definition of ford

ford

/fɔːrd/
ford
Plural:fords
•
Adjective:fordable
•
Past Simple:forded
•
Past Participle:forded
•
Present Participle:fording
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ford Lexical Profile

ford Game Scores & Validity

• noun

1

A shallow area in a river or stream that can be crossed by wading, riding, or driving a vehicle.

Example

"The wagon train traveled several miles downstream to find a safe ford before attempting to cross the river."

Synonyms
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• verb

1

To cross a body of water by wading or driving through a shallow part.

Example

"The hikers carefully forded the icy stream to avoid getting their heavy gear completely soaked."

Synonyms
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• Rhymes for ford

• Nearby Words

forceps
forcible
forcibly
ford
fore
forearm
forebear

Word Origin & Etymology

From Old English 'ford', meaning 'shallow place where water can be crossed'. It derives from Proto-Germanic 'furduz', which is related to the Proto-Indo-European root 'per-', meaning 'to lead, pass over', sharing ancestry with Latin 'portus' (port) and Old Norse 'fjǫrðr' (fjord).

Usage Trend

Historical frequency of usage in published text.

180019102020
Data source: Google Books Ngram Viewer

Cite this Entry

Wordmom. (2026). Definition of Ford. In Wordmom Dictionary. Retrieved Nov 5, 2026, from https://wordmom.com/dictionary/ford
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