haven
Americannoun
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havens
plural
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a harbor or port.
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any place of shelter and safety; refuge; asylum.
verb (used with object)
noun
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a port, harbour, or other sheltered place for shipping
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a place of safety or sanctuary; shelter
verb
Usage
What is a haven? A haven is any safe place, as in The woods can be a haven from a busy world. A safe place is the most common meaning of haven and can be used in many ways. For example, something can be a haven for a person (like your bedroom might be), for a particular behavior (as in a haven for corruption), or for a belief or religion. A haven can be a place safe from something negative or dangerous or a place safe for something negative or dangerous. A haven is also a harbor or port. In other words, it’s a place for a ship or other seagoing vehicle to dock safely or take refuge in during a storm. Haven appears in the phrase safe haven. A safe haven is a safe place for someone or something who is threatened. Haven also appears in the phrase tax haven. This is a location that has very low taxation rates for outside investors. The idea is that a tax haven provides a shelter from taxation. Example: My bedroom is a haven of peace in the midst of the chaos of Christmas decoration prep.
Synonym Usage
See harbor.
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Etymology
Origin of haven
First recorded before 1050; Middle English; Old English hæfen; cognate with Dutch haven, German Hafen, Old Norse hǫfn; akin to Old English hæf, Old Norse haf sea
Explanation
Need to find shelter, from the weather or from other troubles? Then you need a haven. Haven looks a lot like heaven, and the words have quite a bit in common. A haven isn't necessarily as wonderful as heaven is supposed to be, but it is a good place to find when you're in trouble or someone is after you. This word often appears in the phrase "safe haven," which is a good reminder of its meaning. A haven is a safe place, and people who are in trouble tend to seek havens.
Vocabulary lists containing haven
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
Berry and her son must attend 12 sessions of “safe haven joint therapy” in six months after a therapist has been appointed, the order said.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 30, 2026
For both women, religion and small tight-knit communities provided a haven.
From BBC ● Oct. 26, 2026
Investors’ concern over France’s fiscal challenges and the risk that high oil prices could dent economic growth have prompted a search for safe haven investments, and U.S.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 23, 2026
Treasuries remain the ultimate safe haven in times of trouble including Thursday’s tech stock rout.
From Barron's ● Oct. 22, 2026
Then we’d spring Minerva and join the main camp, who would already be on the move to another safe haven, a straight shot north from here.
From "The Marrow Thieves" by Cherie Dimaline
In recent days, investors’ concern over France’s fiscal challenges and the risk that high oil prices could dent economic growth have prompted a search for safe havens, benefiting U.S.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 26, 2026
Safe havens benefited, with the yen rallying against the dollar, helped by strong Japanese inflation data that boosted bets on another interest rate hike.
From Barron's ● Oct. 23, 2026
Bonds may receive a bid later in 2027, when the stock market slide eventually encourages a move into havens, he added.
From MarketWatch ● Oct. 5, 2026
Those safe havens come in the form of nest boxes, specially designed to resemble the tree cavities barn owls nest in that are disappearing from our countryside.
From BBC ● Aug. 26, 2026
The natural state of things is coldness, and houses are fragile havens, holdouts in a death landscape, unforgettably comfortable, simple though they are, just because of their warmth.
From "A Separate Peace" by John Knowles
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Get a wordDefinitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
