noun

port

pawt

noun

A town or harbour where ships load, unload, or shelter.

"The ship docked at the port early in the morning."

The left-hand side of a ship or aircraft when facing forward.

"The captain ordered the crew to turn hard to port."

A socket on a computer or device where a cable or peripheral connects.

"Plug the charger into the USB port on the side."

A strong, sweet, fortified red wine traditionally made in Portugal.

"They finished the meal with a glass of port."

verb

To adapt software so it runs on a different platform or system.

"The developers spent months porting the game to consoles."

How to Use Port

Learner’s notes

In plain EnglishA harbour town, the left side of a ship, a connection socket on a device, the act of adapting software to another system, or a sweet fortified wine.

Common mistake

Remember "port" (left) and "starboard" (right) are fixed relative to the ship's bow, not to where you happen to be standing.

Easily confused with

starboard →

Common pairings

home port USB port port the software glass of port

Word Forms

ported past tense, ported past tense, ports plural, ports plural, ports plural, ports plural, ports plural, ports plural, ports singular, ports singular

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Fill the Gap

Can you complete this real example?

The ship docked at the _____ early in the morning.

Etymology

From Old English port, borrowed from Latin portus ("harbour"). The "left side of a ship" sense arose because old vessels steered with an oar on the right and so had to dock on their left side.

Antonyms

starboard

Related Words

starboard

Rhymes for port

tort sort wort mort fort Cort abort short sport snort report import

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