port
nounadjectiveverbnounverbnounnounnounnouncommon in dialogue
- United Kingdom//pɔːt//
- United States//poɹt//
- Australia//poːt//
A place on the coast at which ships can shelter, or dock to load and unload cargo or passengers.
noun
- 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 roads
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.
- 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?
- 3
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.
- 4
A sweep rower that primarily rows with an oar on the port side.
Each eight has four ports and four starboards.
Etymology
Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *per- Proto-Indo-European *-tus Proto-Indo-European *pértusder. Proto-Italic *portus Latin portusbor. Old English port English 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.
adjective
- 1
Of or relating to port, the left-hand side of a vessel when facing the bow.
on the port side
verb
- 1
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[…]
We have to wait until the ship ports, buddy, and then we can get you the help you need.
Our cruise ship ported at Mykonos, a small island off the coast of Greece, for an overnight stay.
noun
- 1
historicalAn 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?’
Long were it to describe the goodly frame, / And stately port of Castle Joyeous […].
Him I accuse / The city ports by this hath enter'd
And from their ivory port the Cherubim, / Forth issuing at the accustomed hour
- 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 […]
- 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
A narrow opening between other players' bowls or stones wide enough for a delivered bowl or stone to pass through.
- 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
A number that delimits a connection for specific processes or parts of a network service.
Etymology
Inherited from the Old English port, from the Latin porta (“passage, gate”), reinforced by the Old French porte. Doublet of porta.
verb
- 1
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.
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 handful of ants meander across each plank, some porting crumblike objects on their back, others apparently just out for a stroll.
- 2
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.
- 3
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.
- 4
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.
- 5
To transfer a voucher or subsidy from one jurisdiction to another.
Etymology
From Old French porter, from Latin portāre (“carry”). Akin to transport, portable.
noun
- 1
Something used to carry a thing, especially a frame for wicks in candle-making.
- 2
archaicThe 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 […]
the necessities of pomp, grandeur, and a suitable port in the world
For the port, the voice, the smell, the hairdress, were seldom the same, from one day to the next, […]
- 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
- 1
A type of very sweet fortified wine, mostly dark red, traditionally made in Portugal.
Etymology
Named from Portuguese Porto, a city in Portugal where the wines were originally shipped from.
noun
- 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.
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.”
How do you think the cane toads got into this pristine environment? Joseph Midnight brought them in his port from Townsville, smuggled them in, not that anyone was there to stop him.
Etymology
Clipping of portmanteau.
noun
- 1
informalThe portfolio of a model or artist.
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.
Etymology
Clipping of portfolio.
Forms
- plural
- ports
- past tense
- ported
- past participle
- ported
- present participle
- porting
- third person singular
- ports
port · A place on the coast at which ships can shelter, or dock to load and unload cargo or passengers.
Port · A surname.portable · Able to be carried or easily moved.portal · An entrance, entry point, or means of entry.