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

"Our analysis shows that these animals originated in the deep ocean, a habitat which still harbors species like the ram's horn squid," says Sanchez.

From Science Daily

Following these guidelines would give trustees of retirement accounts “safe harbor” status that would protect them from lawsuits, the agency said.

From MarketWatch

Some of us still harbor doubt about the consequences of actions in a complex world.

From The Wall Street Journal

The rule proposed Monday makes clear that so-called continuation funds, where a firm buys a fund from its own affiliate using its own proprietary valuation methods, wouldn’t be eligible for the Labor Department’s safe harbor.

From The Wall Street Journal

The composition is utterly still, devoid of human presence and enlivened only by fluttering harbor flags and the canvas’s scintillating pinpoints of color.

From The Wall Street Journal

Related Words

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