Meaning & use
loading bay
Last updated
UK/ˈləʊdɪŋ beɪ/
US/ˈloʊdɪŋ beɪ/
Meaning
nouncountableBritish
A space beside a building where vehicles stop so goods can be loaded or unloaded.
Grammar: Countable: a loading bay, three loading bays.
Patterns
- at the loading bay
- park in the loading bay
The delivery van waited at the loading bay.
Please keep the loading bay clear.
Workers unload pallets at the loading bay.
Word forms
| plural | loading bays |
|---|
Common combinations
- at the loading bay
- Meet me at the loading bay.
- clear the loading bay
- Clear the loading bay before nine.
- park in the loading bay
- Don't park in the loading bay.
- loading bay door
- The loading bay door opened wide.
- supermarket loading bay
- The supermarket loading bay is at the back.
Synonyms and how they differ
- loading dock
- Loading dock is the American term, often a raised platform.
- delivery bay
- Delivery bay emphasizes incoming deliveries.
- dock
- Dock alone can mean a ship dock, so context matters.
Word family
Commonly confused: loading bay or bay window?
loading bay vs bay window
A bay window sticks out from a wall, which is unrelated.
Practice
The truck driver backed into the ___ to unload the boxes.
Choose one answer.
A loading bay is built for vehicles to load and unload goods. The other items do not suit unloading boxes.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “loading bay”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.
Your sentence stays on this page and is not sent anywhere.