Dictionary
Thesaurus
Reference
Translate
Web
Related Searches
on Ask.com
Synonyms
Nearby Entries

harbor

- 10 dictionary results

har⋅bor

  [hahr-ber]
Use harbor in a Sentence
–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.
–verb (used with object)
4. to give shelter to; offer refuge to: They harbored the refugees who streamed across the borders.
5. to conceal; hide: to harbor fugitives.
6. to keep or hold in the mind; maintain; entertain: to harbor suspicion.
7. to house or contain.
8. to shelter (a vessel), as in a harbor.
–verb (used without object)
9. (of a vessel) to take shelter in a harbor.
Also, especially British, harbour.

Origin:
bef. 1150; ME herber(we), herberge, OE herebeorg lodgings, quarters (here army + (ge)beorg refuge); c. G Herberge

Related forms:
har⋅bor⋅er, noun
har⋅bor⋅less, adjective
har⋅bor⋅ous, adjective

Synonyms:
1. 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 esp. 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. 3. asylum, sanctuary, retreat. 4. protect, lodge. 6. See cherish.
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
Cite This Source Link To harbor
har·bor   (här'bər)   
n.  
  1. A sheltered part of a body of water deep enough to provide anchorage for ships.
  2. A place of shelter; a refuge.
tr.v.   har·bored, har·bor·ing, har·bors
  1. To give shelter to: harbor refugees; harbor a fugitive.
  2. To provide a place, home, or habitat for: a basement that harbors a maze of pipes; streams that harbor trout and bass.
  3. To entertain or nourish (a specified thought or feeling): harbor a grudge.

[Middle English herberwe, probably from Old English herebeorg, lodging; see koro- in Indo-European roots.]
har'bor·er n.
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
Cite This Source

Harbor

Har"bor\, n. [Written also harbour.] [OE herbor, herberwe, herberge, Icel. herbergi (cf. OHG. heriberga), orig., a shelter for soldiers; herr army + bjarga to save, help, defend; akin to AS. here army, G. heer, OHG. heri, Goth. harjis, and AS. beorgan to save, shelter, defend, G. bergen. See Harry, 2d Bury, and cf. Harbinger.]

1. A station for rest and entertainment; a place of security and comfort; a refuge; a shelter.

[A grove] fair harbour that them seems. --Spenser.

For harbor at a thousand doors they knocked. --Dryden.

2. Specif.: A lodging place; an inn. [Obs.] --Chaucer.

3. (Astrol.) The mansion of a heavenly body. [Obs.]

4. A portion of a sea, a lake, or other large body of water, either landlocked or artificially protected so as to be a place of safety for vessels in stormy weather; a port or haven.

5. (Glass Works) A mixing box materials.

Harbor dues (Naut.), fees paid for the use of a harbor.

Harbor seal (Zo["o]l.), the common seal.

Harbor watch, a watch set when a vessel is in port; an anchor watch.

Harbor

Har"bor\, v. t. [Written also harbour.] [imp. & p. p. Harbored; p. pr. & vb. n. Harboring.] [OE. herberen, herberwen, herbergen; cf. Icel. herbergja. See Harbor, n.] To afford lodging to; to enter as guest; to receive; to give a refuge to; indulge or cherish (a thought or feeling, esp. an ill thought).

Any place that harbors men. --Shak.

The bare suspicion made it treason to harbor the person suspected. --Bp. Burnet.

Let not your gentle breast harbor one thought of outrage. --Rowe.

Harbor

Har"bor\, v. i. To lodge, or abide for a time; to take shelter, as in a harbor.

For this night let's harbor here in York. --Shak.
Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary, © 1996, 1998 MICRA, Inc.
Cite This Source
Language Translation for : harbor
Spanish: puerto,
German: der Hafen,
Japanese: 港
More Translations »

harbor 
c.1150, from O.E. herebeorg, from here "army, host" (see harry) + beorg "refuge, shelter" (related to beorgan "save, preserve"); perhaps modeled on O.N. herbergi, from P.Gmc. *kharjaz + *berg-. Sense shifted in M.E. to "refuge, lodgings," then to "place of shelter for ships."
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
Cite This Source

Main Entry: har·bor
Function: noun
: a place of security and comfort —see also SAFE HARBOR

Main Entry: harbor
Function: transitive verb
1 : to receive secretly and conceal (a fugitive from justice)
2 : to have (an animal) in one's keeping harbor a dog without a permit> —har·bor·er noun
Merriam-Webster's Dictionary of Law, © 1996 Merriam-Webster, Inc.
Cite This Source

Main Entry: har·bor
Pronunciation: 'här-b&r
Function: transitive verb
: to contain or be the home, habitat, or host of harbor the gene for the illness —William Booth> Cercopithecus aethiops) may have harbored the ancestor of the AIDS virus —R. C. Gallo>harbor rattlesnakes>
Merriam-Webster's Medical Dictionary, © 2002 Merriam-Webster, Inc.
Cite This Source

harbor

any part of a body of water and the manmade structures surrounding it that sufficiently shelters a vessel from wind, waves, and currents, enabling safe anchorage or the discharge and loading of cargo and passengers

Learn more about harbor with a free trial on Britannica.com.

Encyclopedia Britannica, 2008. Encyclopedia Britannica Online.
Cite This Source
Search another word or see harbor on Thesaurus | Reference