dock

thumb|Dock for cruise ships in Sint Maarten in the [[Caribbean]] thumb|right|Docks in Saint Petersburg|St. Petersburg, Russia thumb|Partially backfilled dry dock of the former Valmet Vuosaari Shipyard in Vuosaari, [[Helsinki, Finland]]

The word dock () in American English refers to one or a group of human-made structures that are involved in the handling of boats or ships (usually on or near a shore). In British English, the term is not used the same way as in American English; it is used to mean the area of water that is next to or around a wharf or quay. The exact meaning varies among different variants of the English language.