Adjacent Words

harbour definitions

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WordNet (r) 3.0 (2005)

n
1: a sheltered port where ships can take on or discharge cargo [syn: seaport, haven, harbor, harbour]
2: a place of refuge and comfort and security [syn: harbor, harbour] v
1: secretly shelter (as of fugitives or criminals) [syn: harbor, harbour]
2: keep in one's possession; of animals [syn: harbor, harbour]
3: hold back a thought or feeling about; "She is harboring a grudge against him" [syn: harbor, harbour, shield]
4: maintain (a theory, thoughts, or feelings); "bear a grudge"; "entertain interesting notions"; "harbor a resentment" [syn: harbor, harbour, hold, entertain, nurse]

Merriam Webster's

chiefly British variant of harbor

Oxford Reference Dictionary

n. & v. (US harbor) --n. 1 a place of shelter for ships. 2 a shelter; a place of refuge or protection. --v. 1 tr. give shelter to (esp. a criminal or wanted person). 2 tr. keep in one's mind, esp. resentfully (harbour a grudge). 3 intr. come to anchor in a harbour. Phrases and idioms: harbour-master an official in charge of a harbour. Derivatives: harbourless adj. Etymology: OE herebeorg perh. f. ON, rel. to HARBINGER

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

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.

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

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.

Collin's Cobuild Dictionary

(harbours, harbouring, harboured) Frequency: The word is one of the 3000 most common words in English. Note: in AM, use 'harbor' 1. A harbour is an area of the sea at the coast which is partly enclosed by land or strong walls, so that boats can be left there safely. She led us to a room with a balcony overlooking the harbour... N-COUNT; N-IN-NAMES 2. If you harbour an emotion, thought, or secret, you have it in your mind over a long period of time. He might have been murdered by a former client or someone harbouring a grudge... VERB: V n 3. If a person or country harbours someone who is wanted by the police, they let them stay in their house or country and offer them protection. Accusations of harbouring suspects were raised against the former Hungarian leadership. VERB: V n

International Standard Bible Encyclopedia

har'-ber. Used figuratively of God in Joe 3:16 the King James Version margin, (Hebrew) "place of repair, or, harbour" (the King James Version "hope," the Revised Version (British and American) "refuge").

See HAVEN; SHIPS AND BOATS, I, II, (1), II, 3.