harbor

American  

[hahr-ber] / ˈhɑr bər /

especially British, harbour

noun

1. 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.

2. such a body of water having docks or port facilities.

3. any place of shelter or refuge.

   The old inn was a harbor for tired travelers.

   Synonyms:

   retreat, sanctuary, asylum

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verb (used with object)

1. to give shelter to; offer refuge to.

   They harbored the refugees who streamed across the borders.

   Synonyms:

   lodge, protect

2. to conceal; hide.

   to harbor fugitives.

3. to keep or hold in the mind; maintain; entertain.

   to harbor suspicion.

4. to house or contain.

5. to shelter (a vessel), as in a harbor.

verb (used without object)

1. (of a vessel) to take shelter in a harbor.

Related Words

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 especially 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. See cherish.

Other Word Forms

• harborer noun
• harborless adjective
• harborous adjective
• unharbored adjective

Etymology

Origin of harbor

before 1150; Middle English herber ( we ), herberge, Old English herebeorg lodgings, quarters ( here army + ( ge ) beorg refuge); cognate with German Herberge

Example Sentences

Mr. Bush came to the realization—and only after 9/11, remember—that vicious rulers and their failed states generate disaffected people who harbor ill designs on the United States.

From The Wall Street Journal

“De-globalization reveals what was always true: some countries, companies, people, etc. operate in the favor of superior powers who harbor the ability to distribute and defend that favor; others do not,” they add.

From MarketWatch

“Dad didn’t harbor any animosity as he met all these people,” said his son, David Gastfriend, a psychiatrist.

From The Wall Street Journal

“A harbor seal swam under me for close to a minute as I approached the beach, one of those wildlife-human interactions that we cherish,” Rubin wrote.

From Los Angeles Times

There is not yet any regulatory framework for operating nuclear-powered commercial ships, nor any diplomatic agreement on allowing such ships into territorial waters and harbors around the world.

From The Wall Street Journal

Related Words

• dock
• inlet
• pier
• port
• road
• wharf