Word.ws English Dictionary

any port in a storm

UK/ɛni ˈpɔːt‿ɪn‿ə ˈstɔːm/US/ɛni ˈpɔɹt‿ɪn‿ə ˈstɔɹm/

any port in a storm proverb: one should accept any passable option when time is of the essence in an adverse situation.

Proverb

any port in a storm

  1. (idiomatic) One should accept any passable option when time is of the essence in an adverse situation.
    • [W]hen vveaker veſſels beare ſaile only in a calme, a true veſſell of Chriſt ſhould ſaile beſt to his vviſhed port in a ſtorme.[1657, Samuel Purchas, “[The Second Part. Being Meditations and Observations, Theologicall, and Morall, upon the Nature of Bees.] The Third Centurie.”, in A Theatre of Politicall Flying-Insects. […]...
    • Pooh, ſays he my dear, any port in a ſtorm.1749, [John Cleland], “[Letter the Second]”, in Memoirs of a Woman of Pleasure [Fanny Hill], volume II, London: […] [Thomas Parker] for G. Fenton [i.e., Fenton and Ralph Griffiths] […], →OCLC, page...

Examples of any port in a storm in a sentence

  • Bonypart in Davy's Locker; Meridian Bonypart in the north corner of ——, where it burns and freezes at the same time: but you know any port in a storm, Bony, so there I'll leave ye.1804 August 4, “Levity: Bob Rousem’s Epistle to Bonypart”, in Oliver Oldschool [pseudonym; John Elihu Hall], editor, The Port Folio, volume...
  • [A]s this Scotsman's howf lies right under your lee, why, take any port in a storm.1822, [Walter Scott], chapter IV, in The Pirate. […], volume I, Edinburgh: […] [James Ballantyne and Co.] for Archibald Constable and Co....
  • I was equally indifferent to cost and convenience in my choice of a lodging—"any port in a storm" was the principle on which I was prepared to act; […]1893–1897 (date written), Robert Louis Stevenson, “I Meet a Cheerful Extravagant”, in St. Ives: Being the Adventures of a French Prisoner...
  • After finding both stairwells untenable at the roof, the Captain and the rookie take the window‐washing scaffold—any port in a storm—down the side of the building to the fire floor.1974 January 27, Dennis Smith, “Playing with fire can mean getting burned [review of Firehouse]”, in The New York Times, New York, N.Y....

Synonyms of any port in a storm

Origin of any port in a storm

Probably from the earlier figurative use of port in a (or the) storm to mean a comfort or refuge in difficult circumstances: see the 1657 quotation.

Questions about any port in a storm

What does any port in a storm mean?
Any port in a storm means one should accept any passable option when time is of the essence in an adverse situation.
How do you use any port in a storm in a sentence?
Bonypart in Davy's Locker; Meridian Bonypart in the north corner of ——, where it burns and freezes at the same time: but you know any port in a storm, Bony, so there I'll leave ye.
What part of speech is any port in a storm?
Any port in a storm is a proverb.
How do you pronounce any port in a storm?
Any port in a storm is pronounced /ɛni ˈpɔːt‿ɪn‿ə ˈstɔːm/ (UK).

Words near any port in a storm in the dictionary

  1. any old nook or cranny
  2. any old thing
  3. any ole
  4. any one
  5. any other business
  6. any port in a storm
  7. any press is good press
  8. any road
  9. any road up
  10. any the wiser
  11. any thing

Source and license

Adapted from Wiktionary: any port in a storm (page history and authors). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.

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Pronunciation audio from Wikimedia Commons, each file under its own free license: En-au-any port in a storm.ogg.

Cite this entry: “any port in a storm.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/any_port_in_a_storm. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.