harbour
Americannoun
noun
-
a sheltered port
-
a place of refuge or safety
verb
-
(tr) to give shelter to
to harbour a criminal
-
(tr) to maintain secretly
to harbour a grudge
-
to shelter (a vessel) in a harbour or (of a vessel) to seek shelter
Spelling
See -or 1.
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of harbour
Old English herebeorg, from here troop, army + beorg shelter; related to Old High German heriberga hostelry, Old Norse herbergi
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.
Both vessels were lost on their moorings in the harbour.
From BBC • Apr. 11, 2026
Sri Lanka is providing safe harbour for the ship and its crew of 219.
From Barron's • Mar. 13, 2026
The longer-term plan is for the vessels to use Ardrossan harbour, which the Scottish government plans to nationalise.
From BBC • Mar. 11, 2026
One south Yangon gas station was shut, with a handwritten notice telling customers fuel tankers were queueing to dock in the harbour and "petrol sales are suspended until they arrive".
From Barron's • Mar. 4, 2026
At the edge of the West Cliff above the pier I looked across the harbour to the East Cliff, in the hope or fear—I don’t know which—of seeing Lucy in our favourite seat.
From "Dracula" by Bram Stoker
Definitions 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.
