harbor Meaning, Definition & Usage

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

WordNet

Har"bor noun
Etymology
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.
Definitions
  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.
  5. (Glass Works) A mixing box materials.
Har"bor transitive verb
Etymology
OE. herberen, herberwen, herbergen; cf. Icel. herbergja. See Harbor, n.
Wordforms
imperfect & past participle Harbored present participle & verbal noun Harboring
Definitions
  1. 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.
Har"bor intransitive verb
Definitions
  1. To lodge, or abide for a time; to take shelter, as in a harbor.
    For this night let's harbor here in York. Shak.

Webster 1913