harbor

1 of 2

noun

har·​bor ˈhär-bər How to pronounce harbor (audio)
plural harbors
1
: a place of security and comfort : refuge
the … Loyalists found harbor in the same areasW. G. Hardy
2
: a part of a body of water protected and deep enough to furnish anchorage
a yacht harbor
especially : one with port facilities
harborful noun
harborless adjective

harbor

2 of 2

verb

harbored; harboring ˈhär-b(ə-)riŋ How to pronounce harbor (audio) ; harbors

transitive verb

1
a
: to give shelter or refuge to
harboring a fugitive
b
: to be the home or habitat of
The ledges still harbor rattlesnakes.
broadly : contain sense 2
a town that harbors several textile factories
2
: to hold especially persistently in the mind : cherish
harbored a grudge

intransitive verb

1
: to take shelter in or as if in a harbor
ships harboring in the bay
2
: live
parasites that harbor in the blood
harborer noun

Examples of harbor in a Sentence

Noun the tanker stayed in Boston harbor three days to undergo repairs seeking a harbor from the drenching rain, we unfortunately chose a bank where a robbery was taking place Verb It is illegal to harbor an escaped convict. He still harbors deep feelings of resentment toward his former employer. I don't harbor any illusions about our chances for success. She studies the genetic material harbored in a cell's nucleus. Some of these animals may harbor disease that could affect humans.
Recent Examples on the Web
Noun
More:Work is to start this year on a big harbor front walkway. Jessica Rodriguez, Journal Sentinel, 18 Mar. 2024 Troy, in particular, harbors resentment over Stan’s mentorship of Harry Haddad (Giles Matthey), a prodigy turned Grand Slam winner who abruptly fired Stan as a teen. Alison Herman, Variety, 14 Mar. 2024 La Primavera, set on a vibrant harbor close to Reykjavik, is owner and chef Leifur Kolbeinsson’s impressive Italian restaurant. Laura Manske, Forbes, 1 Mar. 2024 Also on a bluff, the property overlooks the harbor and is charming with its Victorian-style facade and red roof. Chelsee Lowe, Travel + Leisure, 25 Feb. 2024 Starting in 1889, some 1 million tons of rock was quarried to help create a breakwater that led to the harbor. Jerry Rice, Orange County Register, 25 Feb. 2024 But despite the gaping hole at its center, the composition clearly depicts a harbor scene with boats and buildings set against a streaked white and blue sky. Chloe Veltman, NPR, 23 Feb. 2024 Explore Emerald Isle 02 of 18 Southport There's a reason this tiny harbor town at the outlet of the Cape Fear River was voted America's Happiest Seaside Town in 2015. Tracey Minkin, Southern Living, 1 Mar. 2024 In the 19th century, Britain built structures along the coast to protect the harbor against France. Claire Moses, New York Times, 1 Mar. 2024
Verb
Pakistani officials have blamed militants harbored on Afghan soil and protected by the Taliban administration for the attacks. Zia Ur-Rehman, New York Times, 18 Mar. 2024 As for Immaculate, the film follows Sweeney as an American nun who transfers to an Italian convent that harbors dark and horrifying secrets. Kirsten Chuba, The Hollywood Reporter, 16 Mar. 2024 From plasma-spewing hellscapes to a frigid land with air so thick a human could don a winged suit and take flight, these extraterrestrial moons are fascinating worlds in their own right, and may even be unexpected candidates for harboring life. Max Bennett, Discover Magazine, 7 Mar. 2024 The law affords victims of abuses the right to file civil lawsuits at any time against both attackers and institutions that may have harbored them. Steve Thompson, Washington Post, 6 Mar. 2024 Then last August Giulia Perotti, an astronomer from the Max Planck Institute for Astronomy in Heidelberg, Germany, and others in PDS 70—the sole protoplanetary disk yet known to harbor not one but two giant planets. Shannon Hall, Scientific American, 23 Feb. 2024 Leads to neglecting one’s own needs and harboring resentment towards those who don’t reciprocate. Mark Travers, Forbes, 2 Mar. 2024 On the landward side are women with parasols and schoolchildren coasting on bicycles alongside emerald green paddy fields that harbor a wealth of wetland birds: pond herons, darters, sunbirds. Chandrahas Choudhury, Condé Nast Traveler, 1 Mar. 2024 Moreover, the woman may actually be harboring her own thoughts about her condition and be grateful for her neighbor’s expertise, candor and professional assistance, not just his housecleaning help. Kwame Anthony Appiah, New York Times, 28 Feb. 2024

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'harbor.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

Etymology

Noun

Middle English herberwe, herberowe, herbour, harborow "quarters, lodgings, field camp of an army, shelter for a traveler," going back to Old English herebeorg "shelter, lodgings," going back to Germanic *haribergō- (whence also Old Frisian herberge "lodging, inn," Old Saxon heriberga "army camp," Old High German heriberga, herberga "army camp, lodging for a traveler, accommodations," Old Norse herbergi "inn, room"), from *harja- "body of armed men" + *-bergō- "shelter, protection," noun derivative from the base of *bergan- "to keep safe" (whence Old English beorgan [strong verb class III] "to protect, defend, preserve," Old Saxon gibergan "to protect," Old High German bergan "to save, preserve, conceal," Old Norse bjarga "to save," Gothic bairgan "to keep, preserve"), going back to dialectal Indo-European *bhergh-, whence also Old Church Slavic nebrěgǫ, nebrěšti "to disregard, neglect," Czech brh "hayrick, cave, hut" (from *bĭrgŭ), Czech brah "hayrick," Polish bróg "hayrick, barn for hay" (from *borgŭ), Lithuanian bìrginti "to be sparing, not spend much," Old Irish commairce "protection, refuge" (from *ḱom-bhorgh-i̯e-) — more at harry

Note: Middle English forms such as herboru and harborow appear to show assimilation of the second element of the compound to variants of burgh "town, fortified dwelling" (see borough). — Germanic *bergan- has been associated with *berga- "hill, mountain" (see barrow entry 1), on the assumption that a high place would be a place of refuge, though the Indo-European base underlying *berga- is *bherǵh-, not *bhergh-. An etymon bherǵh-, however, would rule out the clearly related Balto-Slavic forms, which do not have a palatovelar stop. The link could only be maintained if the Balto-Slavic base was borrowed from Germanic, but the full display of ablaut and diversification of meaning in Slavic make borrowing unlikely.

Verb

Middle English herberwen, herborewen "to lodge, give shelter to," going back to Old English herebeorgian, going back to Germanic *haribergōjan- (whence also Middle Dutch herbergen "to provide shelter for," Old High German heribergōn "to set up quarters for an army, stay as a guest," Old Norse herbergja "to shelter [a person], lodge"), derivative of *haribergō- "shelter for an armed force" — more at harbor entry 1

First Known Use

Noun

12th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Verb

12th century, in the meaning defined at transitive sense 1a

Time Traveler
The first known use of harbor was in the 12th century

Dictionary Entries Near harbor

Cite this Entry

“Harbor.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/harbor. Accessed 29 Mar. 2024.

Kids Definition

harbor

1 of 2 noun
har·​bor ˈhär-bər How to pronounce harbor (audio)
1
: a place of safety and comfort : refuge
2
: a part of a body of water protected and deep enough to be a place of safety for ships : port
harborless adjective

harbor

2 of 2 verb
harbored; harboring -b(ə-)riŋ How to pronounce harbor (audio)
1
: to give shelter to
harbor an escaped convict
2
: to hold a thought or feeling of
harbor a grudge
3
: to take shelter in or as if in a harbor
harborer noun

Medical Definition

harbor

transitive verb
har·​bor ˈhär-bər How to pronounce harbor (audio)
: to contain or be the home, habitat, or host of
those who harbor the gene for the illnessWilliam Booth
green monkey (Cercopithecus aethiops) may have harbored the ancestor of the AIDS virusR. C. Gallo

Legal Definition

harbor

1 of 2 noun
har·​bor
: a place of security and comfort see also safe harbor

harbor

2 of 2 transitive verb
1
: to receive secretly and conceal (a fugitive from justice)
2
: to have (an animal) in one's keeping
may not harbor a dog without a permit
harborer noun

More from Merriam-Webster on harbor

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
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