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
- harbourer noun
- harbourless adjective
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.
A third Iranian ship passed Sri Lanka and entered safe harbour in India’s southern port of Kochi.
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
"But now there is evidence from both direct observations and also from strandings data, that it also occurs between grey seals and harbour porpoises, and common dolphins," said Langley.
From BBC • Mar. 2, 2026
Outside the harbour on this side there rises for about half a mile a great reef, the sharp edge of which runs straight out from behind the south lighthouse.
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.
