harbor

especially British, har·bour

[hahr-ber]

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

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.

Other Word Forms

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

Word History and Origins

Origin of harbor¹

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

Synonym Study

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.

Example Sentences

I cannot in good conscience make any excuses for the harboring of jihadis.

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The world’s greatest armada was allowed to rot in the harbor, and the Chinese court burned maps to prevent future voyages.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

I now see gold as a safe harbor asset in a way that the dollar used to be viewed.’”

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Authorities arrested 13 people on charges of selling drugs, possessing illegal weapons and collecting protection money in the harbor area.

Read more on Los Angeles Times

From the top of La Playa Stadium, you can see the beach, palm trees and many boats in the harbor.

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Related Words

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