harbour

[hahr-ber]

noun

Chiefly British.

1. harbor.

harbour

/ ˈhɑːbə /

noun

1. a sheltered port

2. a place of refuge or safety

verb

1. (tr) to give shelter to

   to harbour a criminal

2. (tr) to maintain secretly

   to harbour a grudge

3. to shelter (a vessel) in a harbour or (of a vessel) to seek shelter

Spelling Note

See -or ¹.

Other Word Forms

• harbourless adjective
• harbourer noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of harbour¹

Old English herebeorg, from here troop, army + beorg shelter; related to Old High German heriberga hostelry, Old Norse herbergi

Example Sentences

The house became part of children's television history and has seen "busloads" of preschool pilgrims wanting to visit the set in the colourful harbour town.

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They include an innovative fuel system in a ship whose dimensions were constrained by small harbours, Covid, Brexit, management changes and poor decisions which left "legacy challenges throughout the whole build cycle".

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"I say to Qatar and all nations who harbour terrorists: you either expel them or you bring them to justice. Because if you don't, we will," he warned.

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Meanwhile, a crackdown on informal settlements that police say harbour criminals saw more than 220 shanty homes bulldozed in August.

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"You are committing an extremely serious crime by harbouring or assisting in the escape of Dezi Freeman."

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