Definition of "harbor" in English

noun

1. (countable) Any place of shelter.

   • The neighborhood is a well-known harbor for petty thieves.

2. (countable, nautical) A sheltered expanse of water, adjacent to land, in which ships may anchor or dock, especially for loading and unloading.

3. (countable, glassworking) A mixing box for materials.

4. (obsolete, countable) A house of the zodiac, or the mansion of a heavenly body.

5. (obsolete, uncountable) Shelter, refuge.

verb

1. (transitive) To provide a harbor or safe place for.

   • The docks, which once harbored tall ships, now harbor only petty thieves.

2. (intransitive) To take refuge or shelter in a protected expanse of water.

   • The fleet harbored in the south.

3. (transitive) To drive (a hunted stag) to covert.

4. (transitive) To hold or persistently entertain in one's thoughts or mind.

   • She harbors a conviction that her husband has a secret, criminal past.