What does "port" mean?
A place on the coast at which ships can shelter, or dock to load and unload cargo or passengers.
Port
/pɔːt/ adj, name, noun, verb, slang
adj, name, noun, verb, slang ·Very common ·Middle school level
Meaning at a glance
- Primary sense: A place on the coast at which ships can shelter, or dock to load and unload cargo or passengers.
- Grammar: port is listed as adj, name, noun, verb, slang.
- Nearest alternatives: interface, act, action, actions.
- Useful contrasts: starboard, blocked port, closed port.
- Usage evidence: A whistle blew, and the boat slowly began to pull out of port.
How to use "port"
- Start with the primary definition, then check the part of speech before placing the word in a sentence.
- Compare nearby synonyms to make sure "port" carries the exact meaning, tone, and strength you need.
- Use the example sentence as a context check. If your sentence uses the word differently, confirm that the grammar still fits.
Meaning check
- Does the word fit the sentence's grammar?
- Does it match the intended tone rather than only the dictionary definition?
- Would a simpler synonym be clearer for the reader?
- Is there enough surrounding context to prevent ambiguity?
Source and review context
This entry combines structured lexical data with WordToolSet review checks. Definitions, examples, synonyms, and usage notes may come from different source tables, so the page is designed to show evidence from more than one angle before you rely on "port" in a final draft.
If a word has several senses, prefer the sense that matches your sentence's grammar and surrounding context. A correct definition can still be the wrong choice when the sentence needs a different register, emphasis, or level of specificity.
Before you rely on this definition
Read the first definition as a starting point, then check the example, synonyms, and part of speech before treating "port" as the right word for your sentence.
If your draft is formal, technical, persuasive, or sensitive, compare "port" with a nearby alternative so the final choice matches both meaning and reader expectation.
Compare nearby meanings
- Use synonyms when you need a softer, stronger, simpler, or more specific word.
- Use antonyms to check the boundary of the meaning and avoid accidental contrast.
- Use the example sentence to confirm the word behaves naturally in context.
- Keep the original wording when a replacement adds complexity without improving precision.
Definition decision workflow
1. Identify the role
Check whether "port" is acting as adj, name, noun, verb, slang in your sentence. A definition is only useful when the grammar matches the way the word is being used.
2. Test the nearest option
Compare it with "interface" and other nearby choices to see whether the sentence needs a softer, stronger, or more familiar word.
3. Confirm with context
Use the example sentence below as an evidence check, then read your own sentence out loud to catch tone or rhythm problems.
Review note: Definition pages are checked for source coverage, sentence evidence, synonym support, and editorial insight before they are treated as approval-ready pages. If the evidence is too thin, the page remains available to users but is kept out of the approval-facing indexed inventory.
Final meaning check
Before publishing a sentence with "port", ask whether the word helps the reader understand the idea faster. A precise word should reduce confusion, not simply make the sentence look more polished.
When the definition, synonym evidence, and example context point in the same direction, the word is usually a safer choice. When they conflict, revise the sentence or choose a clearer alternative.
Definitions
Noun
- 1 A place on the coast at which ships can shelter, or dock to load and unload cargo or passengers. countable, uncountable
"peering in maps for ports and piers and roads"
- 2 An entryway or gate. Scotland, historical
"And whan he cam to the porte of the pavelon, Sir Palomydes seyde an hyghe, ‘Where art thou, Sir Trystram de Lyones?’"
- 3 Something used to carry a thing, especially a frame for wicks in candle-making.
- 4 A type of very sweet fortified wine, mostly dark red, traditionally made in Portugal. countable, uncountable
- 5 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."
Show 21 more definitions
- 6 The portfolio of a model or artist. informal
"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."
- 7 (computer science) computer circuit consisting of the hardware and associated circuitry that links one device with another (especially a computer and a hard disk drive or other peripherals) wordnet
- 8 A town or city containing such a place, a port city. countable, uncountable
"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?"
- 9 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 […]"
- 10 The manner in which a person carries himself; bearing; deportment; carriage. See also portance. archaic
"Those same with stately grace, and princely port / She taught to tread, when she her selfe would grace […]"
- 11 the left side of a ship or aircraft to someone who is aboard and facing the bow or nose wordnet
- 12 The left-hand side of a vessel, including aircraft, when one is facing the front. Used to unambiguously refer to directions relative to the vessel structure, rather than to a person or object on board. uncountable
- 13 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.
- 14 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.
- 15 an opening (in a wall or ship or armored vehicle) for firing through wordnet
- 16 A sweep rower that primarily rows with an oar on the port side. countable, uncountable
"Each eight has four ports and four starboards."
- 17 A narrow opening between other players' bowls or stones wide enough for a delivered bowl or stone to pass through.
- 18 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."
- 19 sweet dark-red dessert wine originally from Portugal wordnet
- 20 An opening where a connection (such as with a pipe) is made.
- 21 A set of files used to build and install a binary executable file from the source code of an application.
- 22 a place (seaport or airport) where people and merchandise can enter or leave a country wordnet
- 23 An opening with a valve seat such that a valve can control the flow of fluid through the opening.
- 24 A logical or physical construct in and from which data are transferred. Computer port on Wikipedia.Wikipedia
- 25 A female connector of an electronic device, into which a cable's male connector can be inserted.
- 26 A number that delimits a connection for specific processes or parts of a network service. also
Verb
- 1 To turn or put to the left or larboard side of a ship; said of the helm. imperative, transitive
"Port your helm!"
- 2 To carry, bear, bring, or transport. See porter. transitive
"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."
- 3 modify (software) for use on a different machine or platform wordnet
- 4 To dock at a port.
"The tall ships will port in Pugwash during its annual Harbourfest Celebrations[…]"
- 5 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. transitive
"Port arms!"
Show 10 more definitions
- 6 drink port wordnet
- 7 To adapt, modify, or recode to work on a different platform. transitive
"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."
- 8 carry or hold with both hands diagonally across the body, especially of weapons wordnet
- 9 To carry or transfer (an existing telephone number) from one service provider to another. ergative
"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."
- 10 carry, bear, convey, or bring wordnet
- 11 To transfer a voucher or subsidy from one jurisdiction to another. US
- 12 turn or go to the port or left side, of a ship wordnet
- 13 land at or reach a port wordnet
- 14 bring to port wordnet
- 15 put or turn on the left side, of a ship wordnet
Adjective
- 1 Of or relating to port, the left-hand side of a vessel when facing the bow. not-comparable
"on the port side"
Adjective
- 1 located on the left side of a ship or aircraft wordnet
Proper Noun
- 1 Archaic form of Porto: a city in Portugal. alt-of, archaic
- 2 University of Portsmouth, used especially following post-nominal letters indicating status as a graduate.
- 3 Ellipsis of Port Adelaide Football Club. abbreviation, alt-of, ellipsis, informal
- 4 Ellipsis of Port Macquarie. New-South-Wales, abbreviation, alt-of, ellipsis, informal
- 5 Portugal, used on maps to indicate territories or possessions
Show 2 more definitions
- 6 Abbreviation of Public Order Response Team. abbreviation, alt-of
- 7 A surname.
Example
"A whistle blew, and the boat slowly began to pull out of port."
Common questions
What is a synonym for "port"?
Common synonyms include: interface, act, action, actions, activity, acts.
How do you use "port" in a sentence?
A whistle blew, and the boat slowly began to pull out of port.
How do you pronounce "port"?
Pronounced /pɔːt/.
Etymology
Etymology 1
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.
Etymology 2
Inherited from the Old English port, from the Latin porta (“passage, gate”), reinforced by the Old French porte. Doublet of porta.
Etymology 3
From Old French porter, from Latin portāre (“carry”). Akin to transport, portable.
Etymology 4
Named from Portuguese Porto, a city in Portugal where the wines were originally shipped from.
Etymology 5
Clipping of portmanteau.
Etymology 6
Clipping of portfolio.
Etymology 7
Shortened form of Portsmouth.
Etymology 8
Clipping of Port Adelaide.
Etymology 9
Clipping of Port Macquarie.
Etymology 10
Shortened form of Portugal
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