port

1 of 10

noun (1)

ˈpȯrt 

1

: a place where ships may ride secure from storms : haven

2

a

: a harbor town or city where ships may take on or discharge cargo

b

: airport

3

: port of entry

port

2 of 10

noun (2)

1

chiefly Scotland : gate

2

a

: an opening (as in a valve seat or valve face) for intake or exhaust of a fluid

b

: the area of opening in a cylinder face of a passageway for the working fluid in an engine

also : such a passageway

c

: a small opening in a container or vessel especially for viewing or for the controlled passage of material

access port

3

a

: an opening in a vessel's side (as for admitting light or loading cargo)

b

archaic : the cover for a porthole

4

: a hole in an armored vehicle or fortification through which guns may be fired

5

: a hardware interface by which a computer is connected to another device (such as a printer, a mouse, or another computer)

broadly : jack sense 4

port

3 of 10

noun (3)

1

: the manner of bearing oneself

2

archaic : state sense 3

3

: the position in which a military weapon is carried at the command port arms

port

4 of 10

verb (1)

ported; porting; ports

transitive verb

: to turn or put (a helm) to the left

—used chiefly as a command

port

5 of 10

noun (4)

: the left side of a ship or aircraft looking forward

called also larboard

compare starboard

port

6 of 10

adjective

: located on the left side of a ship or airplane looking forward : of, relating to, or situated to port

The forward and port staterooms share a head and both feature upper/lower bunks.

—Dex Hart

port

7 of 10

noun (5)

: a sweet fortified wine of rich taste and aroma made in Portugal

also : a similar wine made elsewhere

port

8 of 10

verb (2)

ported; porting; ports

transitive verb

: to translate (software) into a version for another computer or operating system

port

9 of 10

abbreviation (1)

1

portable

2

portrait

Port

10 of 10

abbreviation (2)

Portugal

Synonyms

Noun (1)

• anchorage
• harbor
• harborage
• haven

Examples of port in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Noun

Not only is the bag fitted with a convenient USB port to use your portable charger without leaving your phone at risk of theft, but it’s even designed with a durable, protective material that’s well suited for adventuring in any weather. —Merrell Readman, Travel + Leisure, 25 Nov. 2023

For its part, China would probably insist on at least partial ownership of the tunnel, adding to its expanding inventory of global port and transportation infrastructure, experts said. —Mary Ilyushina, Washington Post, 24 Nov. 2023

It's got enough power for most tasks and projects, plenty of ports, and a bright touchscreen with great color accuracy. —Nena Farrell, WIRED, 22 Nov. 2023

In September, officers seized a 384 packages containing 870 pounds of methamphetamine at an entry port near Laredo, on the far eastern size of the Texas border, CBS Texas reported. —Emily Mae Czachor, CBS News, 21 Nov. 2023

Advertisement With the action, the port has slashed by more than half the number of licensed vendors and free-speech artists that will be allowed near Seaport Village while adding a few additional spaces near the Midway Museum. —Jennifer Van Grove, San Diego Union-Tribune, 21 Nov. 2023

The Singapore Sling at the Long Bar in Raffles Singapore Ulf Svane Our first port stop is Bintan, a resort island in Indonesia's Riau Archipelago. —Ashlea Halpern, Condé Nast Traveler, 17 Nov. 2023

The port is front and center with this one with flavors and aromas of almond, Italian pannetone, dark cocoa, deep toffee, sticky toffee pudding, fig, and red grape. —Em Sauter, Forbes, 13 Nov. 2023

Ships would deliver the aid from Cyprus’ main port of Limassol, about 255 miles away. —Sylvie Corbet, The Christian Science Monitor, 9 Nov. 2023

Adjective

While other states have more aggressively courted manufacturing work than Massachusetts has, the state still expects the burgeoning offshore wind industry to produce hundreds if not thousands of jobs to emerge in port cities like New Bedford and Salem. —Jon Chesto, BostonGlobe.com, 25 June 2023

The striking workers include pilot service boat operators and deckhands needed to get port pilots on the inbound vessels. —Terry Collins, USA TODAY, 8 Aug. 2023

The war in Ukraine, rising energy prices and supply-chain disruptions during the pandemic have put port authorities on high alert for a rising number of cyberattacks. —Catherine Stupp, WSJ, 21 Mar. 2023

Costing $8 million to build, the 729-foot-long ship was designed to haul taconite iron ore from mines in Duluth, Minnesota, to iron works in port cities around the Great Lakes. —Chris Foran, Journal Sentinel, 3 May 2023

Despite the daily presence of annoying tourists clogging port cities’ winding streets, a study found that up to 40 percent of cruise passengers traveling through Bergen, Norway, never left the ship; half of those who did spent less than twenty-five dollars. —Lauren Oyler, Harper’s Magazine , 10 Apr. 2023

Apple's dual-port USB-C power adapter has saved me many late-night trips to Best Buy. —WIRED, 25 Mar. 2023

The winery's port-style wine, Madeira Blanc du Bois, is also popular. —Abigail Rosenthal, Chron, 21 Apr. 2022

Since most families rely on Google Maps, Spotify and Netflix to stay informed and entertained on the road, a multi-port car charger is a must. —Amanda Garrity, Good Housekeeping, 27 Oct. 2022

Verb

The result was a sort of dictionary for porting classical simulation algorithms from the Clifford world to the matchgate world. —Charlie Wood, Quanta Magazine, 19 Oct. 2023

In 2025, Hyundai will begin providing adapters to owners of older Hyundai models with the Combined Charging System ports their EVs are currently built with. —Peter Valdes-Dapena, CNN, 5 Oct. 2023

The gleaming yacht, sailing from Italy, transported 100 of the 104 survivors and four Greek coast guard officials — as well as about a dozen bodies — to port. —Matina Stevis-Gridneff, New York Times, 21 June 2023

Cumberland Sauces are always port wine-based and contain red currant jelly. —Southern Living Test Kitchen, Southern Living, 16 Oct. 2023

Others have threatened to never use Unity again or port their existing projects to other game engines. —Ash Parrish, The Verge, 15 Sep. 2023

Macs will add a Game Mode to improve latency, and developers will get better tools for porting their games over to the platform. —Brett Molina, USA TODAY, 5 June 2023

Here’s the full question and answer: Given this is a direct continuation Final Fantasy VII Remake, can players port over their save file and their character builds to continue their journey into Final Fantasy VII VII Rebirth? —Jay Peters, The Verge, 14 Sep. 2023

Just this year, Ensemble’s PC classic Age of Empires 2 was ported to Xbox platforms with a bespoke gamepad control scheme, and Age of Empires 4 followed suit only last month. —WIRED, 24 Sep. 2023

See More

Word History

Etymology

Noun (1)

Middle English, from Old English & Anglo-French, from Latin portus — more at ford

Noun (2)

Middle English porte, from Anglo-French, gate, door, from Latin porta passage, gate; akin to Latin portus port

Noun (3)

Middle English, from Anglo-French, from porter to carry, from Latin portare

Noun (4) and Verb (1)

probably from port entry 1 or port entry 2

Noun (5)

Oporto, Portugal

Verb (2)

perhaps from port entry 2 (hardware interface)

First Known Use

Noun (1)

before the 12th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Noun (2)

before the 12th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Noun (3)

14th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Verb (1)

1580, in the meaning defined above

Noun (4)

circa 1544, in the meaning defined above

Adjective

1842, in the meaning defined above

Noun (5)

circa 1626, in the meaning defined above

Verb (2)

1984, in the meaning defined above

Phrases Containing port

• home port
• port-wine stain
• sally port
• port de bras
• any port in a storm
• treaty port
• free port
• port arms
• port of call
• port of entry
• container port

See More

• home port
• port-wine stain
• sally port
• port de bras
• any port in a storm
• treaty port
• free port
• port arms
• port of call
• port of entry
• container port

See More

Kids Definition

port

1 of 5 noun

ˈpōrt 

ˈpȯrt

1

: a place where ships may take shelter from storms

2

: a harbor town or city where ships load or unload cargo

3

: airport

port

2 of 5 noun

1

a

: an opening (as in machinery) for gas, steam, or water to go in or out

b

: a place of entry into a system

2

: porthole sense 1

3

: Jack entry 1 sense 7

port

3 of 5 verb

: to turn (the helm of a ship) to the left

—used chiefly as a command

port

4 of 5 noun

: the left side of a ship or aircraft looking forward

port adjective

port

5 of 5 noun

: a rich sweet wine

Etymology

Noun

Middle English port "a place for ships to be secured," from Old English port and early French port (both, same meaning), from Latin portus (same meaning)

Noun

Middle English porte "gate, an opening in the side of a ship for light or moving cargo in or out," from early French porte "door, gate," from Latin porta "passage, gate" — related to portal

Noun

probably from ¹port "a place for ships to be secured" or ²port "an opening in the side of a ship"; so called because early sailing vessels kept the left side toward the port because the steering mechanism was always on the right side see Word History at starboard

Noun

Oporto, Portugal

Medical Definition

port

noun

ˈpȯrt 

: an opening, passage, or channel through which something can be introduced into the body: as

a

: a small medical device (as of plastic or titanium) that is implanted below the skin, is attached to a catheter typically inserted into a blood vessel, and has a small opening through which a needle can be inserted to administer fluids or drugs or withdraw blood

b

: an incision (as one made between intercostal spaces) for passing a medical instrument (as an endoscope) into the body