harbor

har·bor

Use harbor in a sentence

A harbor in Australia.

noun

The definition of a harbor is a place providing shelter or safety or a protected area in the water where boats anchor.
1. An example of harbor is a home for abused women.
2. An example of harbor is a port where someone can tie up their boat.

verb

Harbor is defined as to hide, protect or cling to.
1. An example of harbor is hiding a person wanted by the police.
2. An example of harbor is to hold onto the causes of an old family feud.

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"harbor." YourDictionary, n.d. Web. 14 January 2019. <https://www.yourdictionary.com/harbor>.

APA Style

harbor. (n.d.). Retrieved January 14th, 2019, from https://www.yourdictionary.com/harbor

harbor

a place of refuge, safety, etc.; retreat; shelter
a protected inlet, or branch of a sea, lake, etc., where ships can anchor, esp. one with port facilities

Origin of harbor

Middle English herberwe from Old English herebeorg (& Old Norse herbergi), literally , army shelter ( from here, army + beorg, a shelter), akin to Old High German heriberga: see harbinger

to serve as, or provide, a place of protection to; shelter or house; conceal or hide
to be the dwelling place or habitat of
to hold in the mind; cling to: to harbor a grudge

to take shelter, as in a harbor
to live or exist

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Link to this page

Cite this page

MLA Style

"harbor." YourDictionary, n.d. Web. 14 January 2019. <https://www.yourdictionary.com/harbor>.

APA Style

harbor. (n.d.). Retrieved January 14th, 2019, from https://www.yourdictionary.com/harbor

harbor

noun

A sheltered part of a body of water deep enough to provide anchorage for ships.
A place of shelter; a refuge.

transitive verb

har·bored, har·bor·ing, har·bors

To give shelter to: harbor refugees; harbor a fugitive.
To provide a place, home, or habitat for: a basement that harbors a maze of pipes; streams that harbor trout and bass.
To entertain or nourish (a specified thought or feeling): harbor a grudge.

Origin of harbor

Middle English herberwe probably from Old English herebeorg lodging ; see koro- in Indo-European roots.

Related Forms:

har′bor·er
noun

harbor

harbor at Avalon on

Santa Catalina Island,

California

THE AMERICAN HERITAGE® DICTIONARY OF THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE, FIFTH EDITION by the Editors of the American Heritage Dictionaries. Copyright © 2016, 2011 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

Link/Cite

Link to this page

Cite this page

MLA Style

"harbor." YourDictionary, n.d. Web. 14 January 2019. <https://www.yourdictionary.com/harbor>.

APA Style

harbor. (n.d.). Retrieved January 14th, 2019, from https://www.yourdictionary.com/harbor

Noun

(plural harbors)

A sheltered expanse of water, adjacent to land, in which ships may dock or anchor, especially for loading and unloading.
A harbor, even if it is a little harbor, is a good thing, since adventurers come into it as well as go out, and the life in it grows strong, because it takes something from the world, and has something to give in return - Sarah Orne Jewett
Any place of shelter.
The neighborhood is a well-known harbor for petty thieves.

Verb

(third-person singular simple present harbors, present participle harboring, simple past and past participle harbored)

To provide a harbor or safe place for.
The docks, which once harbored tall ships, now harbor only petty thieves.
(intransitive) To take refuge or shelter in a protected expanse of water.
The fleet harbored in the south.
To hold or persistently entertain in one's thoughts or mind.
She harbors a conviction that her husband has a secret, criminal past.

Origin

Middle English herberwe, herberge, from Old English herebeorg ‘military quarters, hostelry’, from Proto-Germanic *harjabergō (compare West Frisian herberch ‘inn’, Dutch herberg ‘id.’, German Herberge ‘id.’), compound of *harjaz ‘army’ and *bergō ‘refuge, shelter’, deverbative of *ƀerʒanan ‘to protect, shelter’ (compare Old English beorgan). More at harry and bury.