plural harbors
1
: a place of security and comfort : refuge
the … Loyalists found harbor in the same areas—
W. G. Hardy
W. G. Hardy2
: a part of a body of water protected and deep enough to furnish anchorage
a yacht harbor
especially
: one with port facilities
harbored; harboring
ˈhär-b(ə-)riŋ 
; harbors
; harbors
1
a
: to give shelter or refuge to
harboring a fugitive
b
: to be the home or habitat of
The ledges still harbor rattlesnakes.
2
: to hold especially persistently in the mind : cherish
harbored a grudge
1
: to take shelter in or as if in a harbor
ships harboring in the bay
2
: live
parasites that harbor in the blood
Examples of harbor in a Sentence
Noun
the tanker stayed in Boston harbor three days to undergo repairs
seeking a harbor from the drenching rain, we unfortunately chose a bank where a robbery was taking place
Verb
It is illegal to harbor an escaped convict.
He still harbors deep feelings of resentment toward his former employer.
I don't harbor any illusions about our chances for success.
She studies the genetic material harbored in a cell's nucleus.
Some of these animals may harbor disease that could affect humans.
Recent Examples on the Web
Christopher McFadden, Interesting Engineering, 28 Oct. 2025
Cities like New York, Boston, and San Francisco flourished because of their harbors.
—Big Think, 28 Oct. 2025
Ingrid Vasquez, PEOPLE, 25 Oct. 2025
And researchers haven't followed enough people who've harbored one of these infections long enough to know the outer limit.
—NPR, 24 Oct. 2025
See All Example Sentences for harbor
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
show current usage.
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Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors.
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Noun
They were designed to obliterate key mountain passes, bridges, or harbors in the event of a Soviet invasion.
—Christopher McFadden, Interesting Engineering, 28 Oct. 2025
Cities like New York, Boston, and San Francisco flourished because of their harbors.
—Big Think, 28 Oct. 2025
Verb
Their double life soon gets complicated when a rival boy band harboring a sinister secret begins stealing their fans.
—Ingrid Vasquez, PEOPLE, 25 Oct. 2025
And researchers haven't followed enough people who've harbored one of these infections long enough to know the outer limit.
—NPR, 24 Oct. 2025
See All Example Sentences for harbor
Cite this Entry
“Harbor.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/harbor. Accessed 4 Nov. 2025.
Copy CitationKids Definition
harbor
2 of 2 verb
harbored; harboring
-b(ə-)riŋ
1
: to give shelter to
harbor an escaped convict
2
: to hold a thought or feeling of
harbor a grudge
3
: to take shelter in or as if in a harbor
harborer
noun
Medical Definition
harbor
transitive verb
har·bor
ˈhär-bər
: to contain or be the home, habitat, or host of
those who harbor the gene for the illness—William Booth
William Boothgreen monkey (Cercopithecus aethiops) may have harbored the ancestor of the AIDS virus—R. C. Gallo
R. C. GalloLove words? Need even more definitions?
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