HARBORS Synonyms: 162 Similar and Opposite Words

harbors 1 of 2

noun

plural of harbor

as in ports

a part of a body of water protected and deep enough to be a place of safety for ships the tanker stayed in Boston harbor three days to undergo repairs

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as in shelters

something (as a building) that offers cover from the weather or protection from danger seeking a harbor from the drenching rain, we unfortunately chose a bank where a robbery was taking place

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harbors

2 of 2

verb

present tense third-person singular of harbor

as in has

to keep in one's mind or heart he had long harbored a grudge against his old employer, who had high-handedly fired him without cause

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as in houses

to provide with living quarters or shelter the woods in our suburb harbor deer, foxes, raccoons, and skunks

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as in protects

to be or provide a shelter for the little cabin is harbored from the wind by a thick growth of pines

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exposes

Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Recent Examples of harbors

Noun

The company has also had to suspend some of its transport services and find alternate routes either to safe harbors or over land. —

Mae Anderson, Los Angeles Times, 7 May 2026 The company has also had to suspend some of its transport services and find alternate routes either to safe harbors or over land. —

Mae Anderson, Fortune, 6 May 2026 Cargo that would have moved through Dubai’s Jebel Ali — the Middle East’s most connected container port, which is now largely cut off from global freighters — is now entering through smaller harbors in Fujairah and Oman, then moving overland. —

Kelsey Warner, semafor.com, 8 Apr. 2026 Itineraries include Alaska, the Mediterranean, Croatia’s secluded harbors and Asia-Pacific. —

Elycia Rubin, HollywoodReporter, 24 Mar. 2026 The state port authority has argued the project is existentially necessary to keep the Wilmington port competitive in an era of larger ships, heavier loads and deeper harbors. —

Patrick Sisson, Scientific American, 9 Mar. 2026 Today, the towns of Vis and Komiza house harbors, stone houses, narrow streets, and a coastal lifestyle known locally as pomalo. —

Jason Phillips, USA Today, 4 Mar. 2026 Yet, hidden between luxe private island resorts and harbors for mega-yachts, the tiny island of Mayreau (pronounced my-row) is a blissful exception, having escaped almost any development. —

Carley Rojas Avila, Travel + Leisure, 3 Mar. 2026 But the glory days wouldn’t last, and Galaxidi, a town with a population of 1,700 people, lost its contact with the outside world, with traffic to its two harbors shrinking and no road connection to the rest of the country, hemmed in by looming mountains. —

Lefteris Pitarakis, Chicago Tribune, 23 Feb. 2026

Verb

This high-end marina in Marbella harbors some of the most impressive superyachts in the world. —

Stacey Leasca, Travel + Leisure, 26 Apr. 2026 Stuttgart and Hoffenheim were on 57 points, two ahead of Bayer Leverkusen, which still harbors its own hopes of Champions League qualification. —

ABC News, 26 Apr. 2026 The colony harbors two distinct types on the upper portion of the rachis. —

Samantha Agate, Charlotte Observer, 23 Apr. 2026 Your domestic zone harbors the Aries New Moon, calling for practical updates that restore comfort, one step at a time. —

Tarot.com, Hartford Courant, 17 Apr. 2026 The first third of director Ben Wheatley’s gory black comedy introduces us to Ulysses and takes us on his journey through a small town that harbors a link to Japan. —

Randy Myers, Mercury News, 15 Apr. 2026 Bombshell reporting by none other than the Daily Mail revealed that Bryon Noem harbors a voracious appetite for the voluptuous things in life. —

Joe Wilkins, Futurism, 1 Apr. 2026 Ownership Works harbors the ambitious goal of achieving $20 billion in employee wealth by 2030. —

Shawn Tully, Fortune, 29 Mar. 2026 Coachella Valley harbors surprises too, particularly in the strip malls farther down California State Route 111 where places specializing in Filipino, Peruvian, Argentinian or even Balkan cooking can thrive. —

Bill Addison, Los Angeles Times, 28 Mar. 2026

Recent Examples of Synonyms for harbors

Noun

Of course, modern touches like bedside power ports and espresso machines are also in place.

— Condé Nast, Condé Nast Traveler, 12 May 2026
Iran has continued to restrict traffic through the Strait of Hormuz, and the United States has blockaded the country’s ports.

— Karissa Waddick, USA Today, 11 May 2026