porthole

[ pawrt-hohl, pohrt- ]
See synonyms for porthole on Thesaurus.com
noun
  1. a round, windowlike opening with a hinged, watertight glass cover in the side of a vessel for admitting air and light.: Compare port4 (def. 1).

  2. an opening in a wall, door, etc., as one through which to shoot.

Origin of porthole

1
First recorded in 1585–95; port4 + hole

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024

How to use porthole in a sentence

  • The deck itself was like a lake, and the portholes had to be opened in order to get rid of the water more quickly.

  • The Invalides lie flat, firing comparatively at their ease from behind stone; hardly through portholes show the tip of a nose.

    A Wanderer in Paris | E. V. Lucas
  • He waved his hand toward the men at the portholes and about the railing—unconsciously leaving his hand directly pointed at Hale.

  • From the portholes of it that they made after his entrance, his men did their final fighting.

  • One man can hold that place, if the doors and the portholes are properly secured.

    An Undivided Union | Oliver Optic

British Dictionary definitions for porthole

porthole

/ (ˈpɔːtˌhəʊl) /


noun
  1. a small aperture in the side of a vessel to admit light and air, usually fitted with a watertight glass or metal cover, or both: Sometimes shortened to: port

  2. an opening in a wall or parapet through which a gun can be fired; embrasure

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012