Dictionary
Thesaurus
Encyclopedia
Translator
Web

harbour

 - 7 dictionary results

har⋅bour

[hahr-ber]
–noun, verb (used with object), verb (used without object) Chiefly British.
harbor.

See -or 1 .

har⋅bor

[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.
–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


har⋅bor⋅er, noun
har⋅bor⋅less, adjective
har⋅bor⋅ous, adjective


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 harbour
har·bour   (här'bər)   
n.   & v. Chiefly British
Variant of harbor.
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
Word Origin & History

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
Legal Dictionary

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
Medical Dictionary

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
Encyclopedia

harbour

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 harbour with a free trial on Britannica.com.

Encyclopedia Britannica, 2008. Encyclopedia Britannica Online.
Cite This Source
Search another word or see harbour on Thesaurus | Reference
FacebookTwitterFollow us: