harbour

noun

/ˈhɑːbə(r)/

/ˈhɑːrbər/

(US English harbor)

[countable, uncountable]

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an area of water on the coast, protected from the open sea by strong walls, where ships can shelter
- Several boats lay at anchor in the harbour.
- to enter/leave harbour
- the harbour front/mouth/wall
- (figurative) She felt as though she'd reached a safe harbour after sailing in a vast, unfriendly sea.
Wordfinder
- beach
- coast
- harbour
- pier
- sandbank
- sea
- shoreline
- surf
- tide
- wave
Extra Examples
- The fishing fleet is in harbour.
- The town has a small natural harbour.
- They entered the harbour with flags flying.
- We sailed out of the harbour at daybreak.
- We landed in a natural sheltered harbour.
- the old harbour town of Watchet
Topics Transport by waterb2
Oxford Collocations Dictionary
adjective
- deep
- deep-water
- good
- …
verb + harbour/harbor
- have
- come into
- enter
- …
harbour/harbor + noun
- defences/defenses
- wall
- town
- …
preposition
- in (a/the) harbour
- into (a/the) harbour
- out of a/the harbour
- …
phrases
- the entrance to a harbour
- the mouth of a harbour
See full entry
Word Originlate Old English herebeorg ‘shelter, refuge’, herebeorgian ‘occupy shelter’, of Germanic origin; related to Dutch herberge and German Herberge, also to French auberge ‘inn’; see also harbinger.

harbour

verb

/ˈhɑːbə(r)/

/ˈhɑːrbər/

(US English harbor)

Verb Forms

present simple I / you / we / they harbour	/ˈhɑːbə(r)/ /ˈhɑːrbər/
he / she / it harbours	/ˈhɑːbəz/ /ˈhɑːrbərz/
past simple harboured	/ˈhɑːbəd/ /ˈhɑːrbərd/
past participle harboured	/ˈhɑːbəd/ /ˈhɑːrbərd/
-ing form harbouring	/ˈhɑːbərɪŋ/ /ˈhɑːrbərɪŋ/

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harbour somebody to hide and protect somebody who is hiding from the police
- Police believe someone must be harbouring the killer.
harbour something to keep feelings or thoughts, especially negative ones, in your mind for a long time
- The arsonist may harbour a grudge against the company.
- She began to harbour doubts about the decision.
- to harbour thoughts of revenge
- He still harbours ambitions of playing professional soccer.
- He still harboured doubts about her honesty.
harbour something to contain something and allow it to develop
- Your dishcloth can harbour many germs.
- These woodlands once harboured a colony of red deer.
- The Fife coast harbours many insects which are rare elsewhere in Britain.

Word Originlate Old English herebeorg ‘shelter, refuge’, herebeorgian ‘occupy shelter’, of Germanic origin; related to Dutch herberge and German Herberge, also to French auberge ‘inn’; see also harbinger.