Word.ws English Dictionary

port

/pɔːt/

More pronunciations (1)Fewer pronunciations

Australia/poːt/

port noun: a place on the coast at which ships can shelter, or dock to load and unload cargo or passengers.

port: a place on the coast at which ships can shelter, or dock to load and unload cargo or passengers
Image: CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons

Noun (1)

port (countable and uncountable, plural ports)

  1. A place on the coast at which ships can shelter, or dock to load and unload cargo or passengers.
    • peering in maps for ports and piers and roadsc. 1596–1598 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Merchant of Venice”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward]...
    • From the ground, Colombo's port does not look like much. Those entering it are greeted by wire fences, walls dating back to colonial times and security posts. For mariners leaving the port after lonely nights on the high seas, the delights of the B52 Night Club and Stallion Pub lie a stumble away.2013 June 8, “The new masters and commanders”, in The Economist, volume 407, number 8839, page 52
    Synonyms:
    harbour, haven
  2. A town or city containing such a place, a port city.
    • More broadly, the port is seen as a litmus test for France; if its most multicultural city can foster vast Muslim enclaves viewed with broad suspicion or hostility by the police, then what hope is there elsewhere?2023 July 1, Mark Townsend, “‘We are seen as less human’: inside Marseille’s districts abandoned by the police”, in The Observer, →ISSN
    Synonyms:
    harbour city, harbour town, port city
  3. (uncountable) The left-hand side of a vessel, including aircraft, when one is facing forward. Used to unambiguously refer to directions relative to the vessel structure, rather than to a person or object on board.
    Antonyms:
    starboard
  4. A sweep rower that primarily rows with an oar on the port side.
    • Each eight has four ports and four starboards.

Adjective

port (not comparable)

  1. Of or relating to port, the left-hand side of a vessel when facing the bow.
    • on the port side
    Synonyms:
    larboard, backboard, left

Verb (1)

port (third-person singular simple present ports, present participle porting, simple past and past participle ported)

  1. (imperative, transitive) To turn or put to the left or larboard side of a ship; said of the helm.
    • Port your helm!
  2. To dock at a port.
    • The tall ships will port in Pugwash during its annual Harbourfest Celebrations[…]2009 March 25, Metro International, Atlantic Free Daily Newspapers Inc., Metro Halifax - March 25, 2009
    • We have to wait until the ship ports, buddy, and then we can get you the help you need.2015, M.L. Brummett, Semper Fidelis

Noun (2)

port (plural ports)

  1. (Scotland, historical) An entryway or gate.
    • And whan he cam to the porte of the pavelon, Sir Palomydes seyde an hyghe, ‘Where art thou, Sir Trystram de Lyones?’1485, Thomas Malory, Le Morte Darthur, book X
    • Long were it to describe the goodly frame, / And stately port of Castle Joyeous […].1590, Edmund Spenser, The Faerie Queene, III.1
  2. An opening or doorway in the side of a ship, especially for boarding or loading; an embrasure through which a cannon may be discharged; a porthole.
    • […] her ports being within sixteen inches of the water […]c. 1615, Sir W. Raleigh, A Discourse of the Invention of Ships, Anchors, Compass […]
  3. A small medical appliance installed beneath the skin, connected to a vein by a catheter, and used to inject drugs or to draw blood samples.
  4. (bowls) A narrow opening between other players' bowls or stones wide enough for a delivered bowl or stone to pass through.
    Synonyms:
    wick
  5. An opening where a connection (such as with a pipe) is made.
  6. An opening with a valve seat such that a valve can control the flow of fluid through the opening.
  7. A logical or physical construct in and from which data are transferred. Computer port on Wikipedia.Wikipedia
  8. A female connector of an electronic device, into which a cable's male connector can be inserted.
  9. (also) A number that delimits a connection for specific processes or parts of a network service.

Verb (2)

port (third-person singular simple present ports, present participle porting, simple past and past participle ported)

  1. (transitive) To carry, bear, bring, or transport. See porter.
    • Dauid in this Pſalme doth exhoꝛt, to pꝛayſe the Loꝛde alwayes: Foꝛ that he did vs make and poꝛt, and guydes vs all our dayes.1567 February 8 (Gregorian calendar), John Pits, “The .100. Psalme”, in A Poore Mannes Beneuolence to the Afflicted Church, London: […] Alexander Lacy, signature [B.iv.], recto
    • What one may call River or Freſh-water-Coale, digged out in this Country, at ſuch a diſtance from Severne, that they are eaſily ported by Boat into other Shires.a. 1662 (date written), Thomas Fuller, “Shrop-shire”, in The History of the Worthies of England, London: […] J[ohn] G[rismond,] W[illiam] L[eybourne] and W[illiam] G[odbid], published 1662, →OCLC...
  2. (transitive) To hold or carry (a weapon) with both hands so that it lies diagonally across the front of the body, with the barrel or similar part near the left shoulder and the right hand grasping the small of the stock; or, to throw (the weapon) into this position on command.
    • Port arms!
    • […] the angelic squadron...began to hem him round with ported spears.1667, John Milton, Paradise Lost, book IV
  3. (transitive) To adapt, modify, or recode to work on a different platform.
    • By its tenth week of release, CPH was the best-selling PC game in America. PlayStation and Xbox ports were already in the works, and there was talk of porting it to Nintendo.2022, Gabrielle Zevin, Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, Vintage (2023), page 259
  4. (ergative) To carry or transfer (an existing telephone number) from one service provider to another.
    • If you submit a request to port a number, and you list the name on the account as Bob Smith, but your local carrier has the number listed under your wife's name Mary Mahoney, the porting request is rejected.2011, Stephen P. Olejniczak, Telecom For Dummies, page 131
  5. (US) To transfer a voucher or subsidy from one jurisdiction to another.

Noun (3)

port (plural ports)

  1. Something used to carry a thing, especially a frame for wicks in candle-making.
  2. (archaic) The manner in which a person carries himself; bearing; deportment; carriage. See also portance.
    • Those same with stately grace, and princely port / She taught to tread, when she her selfe would grace […]1590, Edmund Spenser, The Faerie Queene, II.iii
    • the necessities of pomp, grandeur, and a suitable port in the worlda. 1717 (date written), Robert South, “(please specify the sermon number)”, in Five Additional Volumes of Sermons Preached upon Several Occasions. […], volume (please specify |volume=VII to XI)...
  3. The position of a weapon when ported; a rifle position executed by throwing the weapon diagonally across the front of the body, with the right hand grasping the small of the stock and the barrel sloping upward and crossing the point of the left shoulder.
  4. A program that has been adapted, modified, or recoded so that it works on a different platform; the act of this adapting.
    • Gamers can't wait until a port of the title is released on the new system.
    • The latest port of the database software is the worst since we made the changeover.
  5. A set of files used to build and install a binary executable file from the source code of an application.

Noun (4)

port (countable and uncountable, plural ports)

  1. A type of very sweet fortified wine, mostly dark red, traditionally made in Portugal.
    Synonyms:
    Porto, port wine

Noun (5)

port (plural ports)

  1. A suitcase or schoolbag.
    • No, she just paid up proper-like t' the end of the week, an' orf she went with 'er port, down t' the station, I suppose.1964, George Johnston, My Brother Jack
    • As they left the classroom, Jennifer pointed at the shelves lining the veranda. “Put your port in there.”
      “What?” asked Penny.
      “Your port - your school bag, silly. It goes in there.”2001, Sally de Dear, The House on Pig Island, page 8

Noun (6)

port (plural ports)

  1. (informal) The portfolio of a model or artist or investor.
    • This is a logical way to order your work, but use it only if you're confident the first piece in your port is a strong one. Also note that this style of arrangement works best if all the pieces are in the same category.2011, Debbie Rose Myers, The Graphic Designer's Guide to Portfolio Design, page 53

Proper noun (1) capitalized: Port

Port

  1. (archaic) Archaic form of Porto: a city in Portugal.
  2. A surname.

Proper noun (2) capitalized: Port

Port

  1. University of Portsmouth, used especially following post-nominal letters indicating status as a graduate.

Proper noun (3) capitalized: Port

Port

  1. (abbreviation, ellipsis, informal, Australian rules football) Ellipsis of Port Adelaide Football Club.

Proper noun (4) capitalized: Port

Port

  1. (New-South-Wales, abbreviation, ellipsis, informal) Ellipsis of Port Macquarie.

Proper noun (5) capitalized: Port

Port

  1. Portugal, used on maps to indicate territories or possessions

Proper noun (6) capitalized: PORT

PORT

  1. (abbreviation) Abbreviation of Public Order Response Team.

port meaning in Hindi, Tamil, Marathi and Urdu

port in Hindi

dock or harbour
बंदरगाह bandargāh, पोर्ट porṭ
computing: to adapt a program so that it works on a different platform
पोर्ट करना porṭ karnā

port in Tamil

dock or harbour
துறைமுகம் tuṟaimukam

port in Marathi

dock or harbour
बंदर bandar

port in Urdu

dock or harbour
بَنْدَرْگاہ bandargāh, پورْٹ porṭ
More languagesFewer languages
port in Bengali
বন্দর bondor, পোর্ট pōrṭo
port in Telugu
ఓడరేవు ōḍarēvu
port in Malayalam
തുറമുഖം tuṟamukhaṁ
port in Kannada
ರೇವು rēvu
port in Punjabi
ਪੋਰਟ, ਬੰਦਰਗਾਹ, ਪੋਰਟ ਕਰਨ ਲਈ
port in Gujarati
બંદર, પોર્ટ
port in Odia
ମୁହାଣ muhāṇa, ବନ୍ଦର bandara, ପୋତାଶ୍ରୟ potāśraya, ଘାଟ ghāṭa
port in Sinhala
ගමන්ලීලාව gamanlīlāwa
port in Assamese
বন্দৰ bondor
port in Nepali
पोर्ट, बन्दरगाह
port in Pashto
بندر bandar, بندرګا bandargā
port in Tagalog
port, daungan
port in Arabic
مِينَاء mīnāʔ, مينا mīna, مَنْفَذ manfaḏ, كَيَّفَ kayyafa
port in Malay
pelabuhan
port in Indonesian
pelabuhan, bandar
port in Persian
بَنْدَر bandar, بَنْدَرْگَاه bandargāh, بَنْدَرْگاه bandargâh, تبدیل کردن tabdil kardan
port in Thai
ท่าเรือ tâa-rʉʉa, ท่า tâa, พอร์ต pɔ̀t
port in Vietnamese
cảng, mạn trái, trái, cửa tàu
port in Myanmar
သင်္ဘောဆိပ် sangbhau:hcip, ဆိပ် hcip, ဆိပ်ကမ်း hcipkam:

Examples of port in a sentence

  • Our cruise ship ported at Mykonos, a small island off the coast of Greece, for an overnight stay.2017, Willian R. Stephenson, Conversations: Stories and Poems that Speak to Our Soul:
  • Him I accuse / The city ports by this hath enter'd1623, Shakespeare, Coriolanus, V.vi:
  • And from their ivory port the Cherubim, / Forth issuing at the accustomed hour1667, Milton, Paradise Lost, book IV:
  • A handful of ants meander across each plank, some porting crumblike objects on their back, others apparently just out for a stroll.2001, Steven Johnson, “The Myth of the Ant Queen”, in Emergence: The Connected Lives of Ants, Brains, Cities, and Software, New York, N.Y....

All 40 example sentences with port

Synonyms of port

2 more synonymsFewer synonyms

Antonyms

All synonyms and antonyms of port

Forms of port

Noun
pluralports
Verb
third-person singular presentports
present participleporting
past participleported
pastported

Past tense of port: ported

Plural of port: ports

Origin of port

From Old English port, borrowed from Latin portus (“port, harbour”), ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *pértus (“crossing”) (and thus a distant doublet of ford). The directional sense, attested since at least the 1500s, derives from ancient vessels with the steering oar on the right (see etymology of starboard), which therefore had to moor with their left sides facing the dock or wharf. Doublet of fjard, fjord, firth, ford, and Portus.

Inherited from the Old English port, from the Latin porta (“passage, gate”), reinforced by the Old French porte. Doublet of porta.

From Old French porter, from Latin portāre (“carry”). Akin to transport, portable.

Words formed from port

Phrases with port

172 more phrasesFewer phrases

Words that rhyme with port

44 more rhymesFewer rhymes

Questions about port

What does port mean?
Port means a place on the coast at which ships can shelter, or dock to load and unload cargo or passengers.
What is port in Hindi?
Port in Hindi is बंदरगाह (bandargāh), पोर्ट (porṭ), पोर्ट करना (porṭ karnā). See Port meaning in Hindi.
How do you use port in a sentence?
Our cruise ship ported at Mykonos, a small island off the coast of Greece, for an overnight stay.
What part of speech is port?
Port can be a noun, an adjective, a verb or a proper noun.
How do you pronounce port?
Port is pronounced /pɔːt/ (UK).
What is the plural of port?
The plural of port is ports.

Words near port in the dictionary

  1. Porsche
  2. Porsches
  3. Porsgrunn
  4. Porson
  5. Porsonian
  6. port
  7. Port Adelaide
  8. Port Adelaide Enfield
  9. Port Alberni
  10. Port Albert
  11. Port Allen

Source and license

Adapted from Wiktionary: port (page history and authors); Port (page history and authors); PORT (page history and authors); port (Punjabi, IndicTrans2 machine translation) (model and license); port (Gujarati, IndicTrans2 machine translation) (model and license); port (Nepali, IndicTrans2 machine translation) (model and license). 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.

Last updated:

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

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