- a sheltered port
- a place of refuge or safety
- (transitive) to give shelter to: to harbour a criminal
- (transitive) to maintain secretly: to harbour a grudge
- to shelter (a vessel) in a harbour or (of a vessel) to seek shelter
WordReference Random House Learner's Dictionary of American English © 2024
har•bor /ˈhɑrbɚ/USA pronunciation
n. [countable]
v. [~ + object]
WordReference Random House Unabridged Dictionary of American English © 2024- a body of water deep enough for anchoring a ship and providing protection from the weather.
- any place of shelter or safety.
v. [~ + object]
- to give shelter to:to harbor refugees.
- to conceal;
hide:to harbor fugitives. - to keep or hold in the mind;
entertain:harbored suspicions.
har•bor
(här′bər),USA pronunciation n.
v.t.
v.i.
har′bor•er, n.
har′bor•less, adj.
har′bor•ous, adj.
WordReference Random House Unabridged Dictionary of American English © 2024- a part of a body of water along the shore deep enough for anchoring a ship and so situated with respect to coastal features, whether natural or artificial, as to provide protection from winds, waves, and currents.
- such a body of water having docks or port facilities.
- any place of shelter or refuge:The old inn was a harbor for tired travelers.
v.t.
- to give shelter to;
offer refuge to:They harbored the refugees who streamed across the borders. - to conceal;
hide:to harbor fugitives. - to keep or hold in the mind;
maintain;
entertain:to harbor suspicion. - to house or contain.
- Nautical, Naval Termsto shelter (a vessel), as in a harbor.
v.i.
- Nautical, Naval Terms(of a vessel) to take shelter in a harbor.
- bef. 1150; Middle English herber(we), herberge, Old English herebeorg lodgings, quarters (here army + (ge)beorg refuge); cognate with German Herberge
har′bor•less, adj.
har′bor•ous, adj.
- 1.See corresponding entry in Unabridged Harbor, haven, port indicate a shelter for ships. A harbor may be natural or artificially constructed or improved:a fine harbor on the eastern coast.A haven is usually a natural harbor that can be utilized by ships as a place of safety; the word is common in literary use:a haven in time of storm; a haven of refuge.A port is a harbor viewed esp. in its commercial relations, though it is frequently applied in the meaning of harbor or haven also:a thriving port; any old port in a storm.
- 3.See corresponding entry in Unabridged asylum, sanctuary, retreat.
- 4.See corresponding entry in Unabridged protect, lodge.
- 6.See corresponding entry in Unabridged See cherish.
har•bour
(här′bər),USA pronunciation n., v.t., v.i. [Chiefly Brit.]
- British Terms, Pronounsharbor.
- See -or 1.
Collins Concise English Dictionary © HarperCollins Publishers::
harbour, US harbor /ˈhɑːbə/ n
'harbor' also found in these entries (note: many are not synonyms or translations):
Ambrose Channel
- Bar Harbor
- Benton Harbor
- Boston Tea Party
- Cold Harbor
- Corriedale
- Dartmouth
- Day of Infamy
- Dutch Harbor
- Fort McHenry
- Fort Moultrie
- Fort Sumter
- H, h
- Hawaii
- Hook of Holland
- Pearl Harbor
- Staten Island
- World War II
- air harbor
- anchor
- anchorage
- auberge
- bar
- belfry
- blockade
- breakwater
- bulkhead
- cherish
- clean
- clear
- coast pilot
- coastwise
- commodious
- entertain
- fairway
- furl
- harbinger
- harbor master
- harbor seal
- harborage
- harborside
- harbour
- harness
- hauberk
- haven
- hole
- house
- ice-free
- icebound
- ill will