What does "jetty" mean?
A part of a building that jets or projects beyond the rest; specifically, an upper storey which overhangs the part of the building below.
Jetty
/ˈd͡ʒɛti/ adj, noun, verb
adj, noun, verb ·Common ·High school level
Meaning at a glance
- Primary sense: A part of a building that jets or projects beyond the rest; specifically, an upper storey which overhangs the part of the building below.
- Grammar: jetty is listed as adj, noun, verb.
- Nearest alternatives: abutment, anchorage, anchorage ground, arc-boutant.
- Useful contrasts: inland walkway, natural shoreline, shoreline.
- Usage evidence: A young couple were watching the sunset from the jetty.
How to use "jetty"
- Start with the primary definition, then check the part of speech before placing the word in a sentence.
- Compare nearby synonyms to make sure "jetty" carries the exact meaning, tone, and strength you need.
- Use the example sentence as a context check. If your sentence uses the word differently, confirm that the grammar still fits.
Meaning check
- Does the word fit the sentence's grammar?
- Does it match the intended tone rather than only the dictionary definition?
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- Is there enough surrounding context to prevent ambiguity?
Source and review context
This entry combines structured lexical data with WordToolSet review checks. Definitions, examples, synonyms, and usage notes may come from different source tables, so the page is designed to show evidence from more than one angle before you rely on "jetty" in a final draft.
If a word has several senses, prefer the sense that matches your sentence's grammar and surrounding context. A correct definition can still be the wrong choice when the sentence needs a different register, emphasis, or level of specificity.
Before you rely on this definition
Read the first definition as a starting point, then check the example, synonyms, and part of speech before treating "jetty" as the right word for your sentence.
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Compare nearby meanings
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Definition decision workflow
1. Identify the role
Check whether "jetty" is acting as adj, noun, verb in your sentence. A definition is only useful when the grammar matches the way the word is being used.
2. Test the nearest option
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3. Confirm with context
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Final meaning check
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Definitions
Noun
- 1 A part of a building that jets or projects beyond the rest; specifically, an upper storey which overhangs the part of the building below.
"Spérto, a porch, a portall, a baie vvindovv, or out butting, or iettie of a houſe that ietties out farther than anie other part of the houſe, a iettie or butte."
- 2 a protective structure of stone or concrete; extends from shore into the water to prevent a beach from washing away wordnet
- 3 A structure of stone or wood which extends into a river or sea to protect a bank, beach, harbour, etc., from currents or tides; a breakwater. broadly
"[I]t appeareth that all the auncient Townes and Citties which ſtand vppon the Riuers of Rhyne and Danowe, towardes Fraunce and Italy, did ſerue rather for a Banke or Iettie againſt the ouerflowing of the Germanes, than for Fortreſſes to aſſayle them withall."
- 4 A dock or wharf extending into a river from a bank, or into a sea from a shore, for boats to land or moor at; a pier. broadly
"There are excellent jetties for landing by boat at the Marine Hotel, and the Vine Inn; […]"
- 5 A dock or wharf extending into a river from a bank, or into a sea from a shore, for boats to land or moor at; a pier.; A natural piece of land projecting into a body of water; a peninsula, a promontory. broadly
Show 2 more definitions
- 6 A dock or wharf extending into a river from a bank, or into a sea from a shore, for boats to land or moor at; a pier.; In full air jetty: synonym of jet bridge (“an elevated, usually enclosed, corridor connecting an airport to an aeroplane for embarking and disembarking crew and passengers”). broadly
- 7 Synonym of bulwark (“a defensive rampart or wall”). broadly, obsolete
Verb
- 1 Sometimes followed by out: to construct (a part of a building) so that it jets or projects beyond the rest. transitive
"Adentellare, […] It is properly to ietty out, or indent ſtones or timber of any vnfinished building, that another may the eaſier be ioyned vnto, or that finiſhed."
- 2 To move with haste. intransitive, obsolete, rare
"Some knack not vnpretye, / of Huſwiferie nettie, / how Huſwiues ſhould iettie / from morning to night."
- 3 To provide (a riverbank, seashore, etc.) with a jetty (“breakwater; dock or wharf”) (noun etymology 1 sense 2.1 or etymology 1 sense 2.2). broadly, transitive
"The land is indeed materially injured in many parts, for want of drains; but I think the expence would exceed the profit: they would soon lodge up, and consequently want jettying on the sides."
- 4 Sometimes followed by out or over: of (a part of) a building: to jet or project beyond the rest of the building or other structures. intransitive
"Spérto, a porch, a portall, a baie vvindovv, or out butting, or iettie of a houſe that ietties out farther than anie other part of the houſe, a iettie or butte."
- 5 To provide a riverbank, seashore, etc., with a jetty (noun etymology 1 sense 2.1 or etymology 1 sense 2.2). broadly, intransitive
Adjective
- 1 Having the characteristic of jetting or jutting out; protruding. obsolete, rare
"Tvviſe tvventie Iettie ſailes vvith him, the ſvvelling ſtreame did take."
- 2 Like jet (“a hard, black form of coal”) in colour; jet-black, pitch-black. archaic
"Blacke are his colloures, blacke Pauillion, / His ſpeare, his ſhield, his horſe, his armour, plumes, / And Ietty Feathers menace death and hell, / VVithout reſpect of ſex, degree or age."
- 3 Having a composition like that of jet. obsolete, rare
"In the Whitby Museum there is a large mass of bone, which has the exterior converted into jet for about a quarter of an inch in thickness. The jetty matter appears to have entered first into the pores of the bone, and there to have hardened; and, during the mineralising process, the whole bony matter has been gradually displaced, and its place occupied by jet, so as to preserve its original form."
Synonyms
All synonymsAntonyms
Example
"A young couple were watching the sunset from the jetty."
Common questions
What is a synonym for "jetty"?
Common synonyms include: abutment, anchorage, anchorage ground, arc-boutant, arch dam, backstop.
How do you use "jetty" in a sentence?
A young couple were watching the sunset from the jetty.
How do you pronounce "jetty"?
Pronounced /ˈd͡ʒɛti/.
Etymology
Etymology 1
The noun is derived from Late Middle English gete, jette, jetti (“projecting upper storey of a building, overhang; breakwater, pier, jetty”), from Anglo-Norman geté, getee, getté, and Middle French geté, getee, jeté (“projecting upper storey of a building; breakwater, pier”) (modern French jetée), a noun use of the past participle of geter, jeter, from Old French geter, jeter (“to throw”) from Late Latin iectāre, the present active infinitive of iectō (“to throw”), probably from Latin iactō (“to cast, hurl, throw”), from iaciō (“to cast, hurl, throw”) (ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *(H)yeh₁- (“to throw”)) + -tō (frequentative suffix). Compare jet (“(obsolete) protruding part”), jutty. The verb is derived from the noun.
Etymology 2
From jet (“(obsolete) protruding part, projection”, noun) or jet (“to jut, project, protrude”, verb) + -y (suffix forming adjectives with the sense ‘having the quality of’).
Etymology 3
From jet (“hard, black form of coal; colour of jet coal”, noun) + -y (suffix forming adjectives with the sense ‘having the quality of’).
Etymology 4
From jet (“(obsolete) to strut; to walk with a lofty or haughty gait”, verb) + -y (suffix added for metrical reasons, or forming informal terms).