Definition

1. Noun:

   • A sheltered body of water where ships can anchor safely: A harbor is a protected coastal area that provides calm waters for vessels to dock, load, or unload.
   • A place of refuge, comfort, or security: Figuratively, a harbor can be any place or situation that offers safety and protection.

2. Verb:

   • To give shelter or refuge to: To harbor someone or something is to provide a safe hiding place, often for someone or something unwanted or illicit.
   • To hold or maintain in the mind: To harbor a thought, feeling, or idea is to keep it secretly within one's thoughts or feelings.

Examples of Usage

• Noun:

  • The fishing boats returned to the harbor before the storm.
  • Her home was a safe harbor during a difficult time.

• Verb:

  • It is illegal to harbor a fugitive.
  • He harbors a deep affection for classical music.

Advanced Usage

• "Safe harbor": A place or situation of safety and protection, often used in legal or financial contexts.

  • The new regulations provide a safe harbor for companies that follow the guidelines.

• "To harbor doubts/suspicions": To privately maintain feelings of uncertainty or mistrust.

  • She harbored suspicions about his true intentions.

Variants and Related Words

• Harborage (n): Shelter or refuge (a less common variant).
• Harbour (n/v): The British English spelling of "harbor".

Synonyms

• Noun (for a port): Port, haven, marina, dock.
• Noun (for refuge): Sanctuary, shelter, asylum, retreat.
• Verb (to shelter): Shelter, hide, conceal, shield.
• Verb (to hold a feeling): Cherish, nurse, entertain, bear.

Related Phrasal Verbs

(Note: "Harbor" is not typically used with particles to form standard phrasal verbs. Its meanings are conveyed directly.)

Related Idioms

• "Any port in a storm": In a difficult situation, any source of relief or help is acceptable. (This idiom relates to the concept of a harbor as a place of safety.)
  • The hotel was expensive, but it was any port in a storm.

Noun

1. a place of refuge and comfort and security
2. a sheltered port where ships can take on or discharge cargo

Verb

1. hold back a thought or feeling about
   • She is harboring a grudge against him
2. keep in one's possession; of animals
3. secretly shelter (as of fugitives or criminals)
4. maintain (a theory, thoughts, or feelings)
   • bear a grudge
   • entertain interesting notions
   • harbor a resentment