Skip to main content
port

port

340 1.3
A place like a harbour where people and goods enter or leave a country
  • noun
  • /pɔrt/
: puerto
  • I came into port 2 days ago from New Zealand, on a freighter called Rangatira.
  • a port of entry
  • a port city
  • a major port

It's things like roads and bridges, ports and and airports, trains and transit.

Autoplay Next

Examples

  • Los Angeles, Seattle, and Oakland are major ports of the West Coast.

    Academic text (2008)
  • Buenaventura is the most important port city on Columbia's Pacific Coast.

  • And, you know, we arrived at the port my third day in Africa.

  • You see on the screen a site plan of the Port of Rome.

  • And now we need to take the taxi to the port and then go have dinner.

  • The boat's coming into port next week.

  • How many weeks at a time would you be out to sea without stopping at port?

  • We will be greeted at the port by a priest named Morelli.

  • We arrived at the port early in the morning to watch the ships come in.

  • The cruise ship docked at the port, allowing passengers to explore the city.

Synonyms

airport
vsport
∞ 1.0

A place where planes take off and land and people get on and off them

is focused on country entry and exit rather than just aircraft operations
harbor
vsport
  • US
300 1.8

A sheltered area of water where ships can anchor and load or unload

is about crossing national borders for people and goods rather than sheltering ships
port of entry
vsport
  • Formal
13 4.4

A place like an airport or seaport where officers check people and goods entering a country

is a general location for crossing a country's border without stressing inspections
seaport
vsport
9 2.2

A town or city by the sea where ships load and unload things and people

is a country crossing site rather than a whole town serving ships
3 4.1

An official place like an airport where people or goods enter a country and have customs and immigration checks

is a location for entering or leaving a country without focus on official checks

Idioms

2 8.1

Taking any help because the situation is bad even if it is not perfect

The first place you go to for help or information

Compounds

port of entry
  • Formal
13 4.4

A place like an airport or seaport where officers check people and goods entering a country

6 3.4

A port where a ship stops during a journey away from home

home port
  • Specialized
3 4.1

A place where a ship is registered and based

serial port
  • Specialized
2 3.7

A socket on a computer used to connect devices and send data one bit at a time

2 3.5

A sweet dark red wine from Portugal served with dessert

free port
  • Specialized
1 4.1

A part of a port where businesses bring, store, and send goods without paying taxes

The capital city of Trinidad and Tobago on Trinidad's west coast

parallel port
  • Archaic
1 4.3

A socket on a computer that connects devices like printers and sends data across many wires

port-wine stain
  • Specialized
1 6.6

A flat pink or purple birthmark on the skin caused by too many small blood vessels

treaty port
  • Archaic
1 9.3

A port in China, Korea, or Japan opened to foreign trade by treaty in the 1800s and early 1900s

1 7.4

A person who watches for suspicious activity at a dock or port

A large evergreen tree from the Pacific coast with blue green leaves and strong wood

Wood from the Port Orford cedar tree that is light, strong, and has a nice smell

A 1894 fight between China and Japan in which Japanese forces captured Port Arthur's forts and harbour

Port Jackson fig
  • Australian
8.7

A large Australian tree with wide branches and roots that hang down, often planted for shade

Port Jackson heath
  • Australian
9.9

A small shrub with pink to rosy purple tube-shaped flowers that grows in southern and western Australia

Port Jackson pine
  • Australian
9.9

An evergreen tree from eastern Australia with small round cones

port watcher
  • Specialized
6.3

A program that watches network ports and reports open or suspicious connections

An operation on the heart using small cuts and cameras to bypass blocked arteries while a machine keeps blood moving

How Big

seaport
9 2.2
harbor
  • US
300 1.8
port
340 1.3
pier
166 1.4
landing
4 2.6

Surface Forms

port singular
ports plural

Etymology

Port The word port meaning a harbour comes from Latin portus 'harbour' and names places where ships stop to load and unload, so a port is where people and goods enter or leave a country.