port

Less common meanings

8. 8
   noununcountable

   The left-hand side of a vessel, including aircraft, when facing the front.

   All passengers were told to move to port as the ship listed.

   The whale surfaced just off to port, and everyone on deck rushed to look.

   UsageUsually to port or off to port; the right side is starboard.

   Similarleft, larboard

   Oppositestarboard

   Note

   Sailors and pilots need a left that does not change when someone aboard turns around, and this word supplies it. The side is fixed by the vessel's own bow, not by whoever is standing on deck or in the cabin. Larboard names the same side. Source

   Checked 2 Nov 2026 · 3 facts

   • Port supplies a fixed direction independent of which way someone aboard is facing. en.wikipedia.org
   • Port is the vessel's left side when facing its bow; starboard is the corresponding right side. oceanservice.noaa.gov
   • Larboard denotes the same side as port. en.wiktionary.org
9. 9
   move phone numberverbtransitive or intransitive

   To transfer something such as a phone number or a housing voucher from one provider or jurisdiction to another.

   Customers can port their numbers without losing service.

   He ported the business line to a cheaper provider last month.

   UsageYou port a number to a new carrier, or the number itself ports.

   Similartransfer, move, switch

10. 10
    medical implantnouncountable

    A small medical device implanted beneath the skin and connected to a vein by a catheter, used to inject drugs or draw blood samples.

    The surgeon implanted a port to simplify her chemotherapy.

    Blood was drawn from the port instead of her arm.

11. 11
    ship's left sideadjective

    Relating to or located on the left-hand side of a vessel when facing the bow.

    The port lifeboats were lowered first during the drill.

    Passengers crowded the port rail to watch the coastline slip past.

    UsageUsed before a noun, as in the port side or the port bow.

12. 12
    reach harborverbintransitive

    Of a ship, to come into a harbor and dock there.

    The fleet ported in Lisbon to take on supplies.

    Large tankers can port only at deep-water terminals.

    Similardock, berth, moor

    Note

    Here the harbor noun becomes a verb of arrival, and it takes no object: the ship itself ports. At or in names the place, as when a cruise ship ported at Mykonos or the tall ships port in Pugwash for its Harbourfest. The subject is the vessel, and the verb works as a compact alternative to dock. Source

    Checked 31 Oct 2026 · 2 facts

    • A cited example describes a cruise ship porting at Mykonos. en.wiktionary.org
    • A cited example describes tall ships porting in Pugwash for its Harbourfest celebrations. en.wiktionary.org
13. 13
    hull openingnouncountable

    An opening or doorway in the side of a ship, used for boarding or loading, for firing a cannon, or as a porthole.

    The gun crew ran the cannon out through the port before firing.

    Crates were hauled aboard through a wide cargo port near the waterline.

    Similarhatch, opening, porthole

    Note

    The gate word carried on board: an opening in a ship's side for boarding, loading or guns, and also a porthole itself. It shares its spelling with the left-hand side, so a ship can perfectly well have ports on its starboard side. Sir W. Raleigh, in a discourse first printed in 1650, describes a ship with her ports within sixteen inches of the water. Source

    Checked 31 Oct 2026 · 3 facts

    • The ship-opening sense derives from the word meaning a gate. en.wiktionary.org
    • Sir Walter Raleigh describes a ship whose ports were within sixteen inches of the water. dl.tufts.edu
    • Under the required first-publication convention, use 1650. The Discourse first appeared in Judicious and Select Essayes and Observations; circa 1615 is not its publication date. celm.folger.edu
14. 14
    carryverbtransitive

    To carry, bear, bring, or transport something from one place to another.

    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”

    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, John Pits, “The .100. Psalme”

    Similarcarry, convey, transport, haul, lug

    Note

    A verb of carrying from Old French porter and Latin portāre, the root behind transport, portable and porter. The same root lies behind the software sense. It always takes an object: Thomas Fuller's coal is easily ported by boat into other shires, and in Steven Johnson's Emergence (2001) ants go porting crumblike objects on their backs. Source

    Checked 31 Oct 2026 · 8 facts

    • The carrying verb comes from Old French porter and Latin portāre. en.wiktionary.org
    • Transport shares the Latin carrying root. en.wiktionary.org
    • Portable shares the carrying root. en.wiktionary.org
    • Porter, meaning a carrier, derives ultimately from Latin portāre. en.wiktionary.org
    • The software sense shares the Latin carrying root. en.wikipedia.org
    • Thomas Fuller describes coal being easily ported by boat into other shires. gutenberg.org
    • Steven Johnson wrote Emergence, first published in 2001. en.wikipedia.org
    • Emergence describes ants carrying crumblike objects on their backs using the verb porting. en.wiktionary.org
15. 15
    steer leftverbtransitiveimperative

    To turn or put the helm to the left, or larboard, side of a ship.

    The mate ordered the steersman to port the helm as the channel narrowed.

    They ported the helm hard to swing the bow away from the reef.

    Oppositestarboard

    Note

    A helmsman's verb, heard mostly as an order: Port your helm! Its object is the helm itself rather than the ship. The side it names is the one sailors also called larboard. Source

    Checked 31 Oct 2026 · 3 facts

    • Port your helm is an attested helm order. archives.novascotia.ca
    • Porting the helm means putting the helm itself to the ship's left side. gutenberg.org
    • Larboard names the same left side. gutenberg.org
16. 16
    nouncountable or uncountable

    A sweep rower who primarily pulls a single oar on the port, or left, side of the boat.

    As a port, he spent years perfecting his stroke on the left side.

    The crew needed a strong port to balance the boat.

    Oppositestarboard

    Note

    In sweep rowing a crew is described by its oars. A port pulls an oar on the boat's left-hand side, and a starboard pulls one on the other side. Both words count as ordinary nouns here, so a coach can say that each eight has four ports and four starboards. Source

    Checked 31 Oct 2026 · 4 facts

    • Sweep rowers are described by the side on which they use their oar. escholarship.org
    • A port rows with an oar on the boat's left side. usrowing.org
    • Starboard rowers use the boat's right side; ports and starboards are nouns referring to rowers. rowpnra.org
    • A sweep eight has four rowers on each side. reachrowing.org
17. 17
    suitcasenounAustraliacountable

    A suitcase or schoolbag carried to hold one's belongings.

    She heaved her port onto the luggage rack.

    The kids dropped their ports in the hallway after school.

    Similarsuitcase, bag, case, schoolbag

    Note

    A clipping of portmanteau that became an everyday word for a suitcase and, among schoolchildren, a schoolbag. In Sally de Dear's The House on Pig Island, a puzzled Penny has to be told what it means: "your school bag, silly." Alexis Wright's Carpentaria has cane toads smuggled in a port from Townsville. Outside the speech it belongs to, expect puzzled looks. Source

    Checked 31 Oct 2026 · 5 facts

    • Port, meaning a suitcase or schoolbag, is a clipping of portmanteau. en.wiktionary.org
    • Sally de Dear wrote The House on Pig Island. ncacl.org.au
    • The quoted schoolbag explanation occurs in the book; Jennifer explains the word to Penny. en.wiktionary.org
    • Alexis Wright wrote Carpentaria. giramondopublishing.com
    • Carpentaria describes Joseph Midnight smuggling cane toads in his port from Townsville. wacevault.com
18. 18
    cross-carry (gun)verbtransitive

    To hold or carry a weapon with both hands so that it lies diagonally across the front of the body, the barrel near the left shoulder.

    On command, the recruits ported their rifles across their chests.

    He learned to port the musket smoothly during inspection.

    Note

    The drill command Port arms! is where most people meet this verb. It takes the weapon as its object, and its past participle can stand before a noun. In Milton's Paradise Lost (1667), the angelic squadron hems him round with ported spears. The same carriage, held still, is the rifle position. Source

    Checked 31 Oct 2026 · 7 facts

    • Port arms! is a military drill command. gutenberg.org
    • The verb takes a weapon as its object. en.wiktionary.org
    • Its past participle can precede a noun. luminarium.org
    • John Milton wrote Paradise Lost, first published in 1667. wwwe.lib.cam.ac.uk
    • 1667 is the first-publication year. wwwe.lib.cam.ac.uk
    • Milton's narrator describes the angelic squadron surrounding Satan with ported spears. luminarium.org
    • The noun port denotes the position of a weapon held this way. en.wiktionary.org
19. 19
    noun

    The diagonal position of a weapon held across the front of the body, with the barrel sloping upward and crossing the left shoulder.

    The soldiers snapped their rifles to the port in a single motion.

    At the port, the barrel crosses diagonally over the left shoulder.

20. 20
    nouncolloquialcountable

    Short for portfolio: the samples of work a model or artist shows to attract clients and bookings, or the set of investments a person holds.

    Her port landed her a major campaign.

    He keeps a digital port with his strongest images.

    Similarportfolio, book

    Note

    Like the suitcase word, it is a clipping, here of portfolio, and it lives in the working talk of models, artists and designers. Debbie Rose Myers's The Graphic Designer's Guide to Portfolio Design advises leading with a strong piece in your port. Source

    Checked 2 Nov 2026 · 4 facts

    • Port meaning portfolio is a clipping of portfolio. en.wiktionary.org
    • Port meaning suitcase is also a clipping. en.wiktionary.org
    • Debbie Rose Myers wrote The Graphic Designer's Guide to Portfolio Design. wiley-vch.de
    • Myers advises having a strong first piece and uses the word port. en.wiktionary.org
21. 21
    bearingnounarchaic

    The manner in which a person carries himself: bearing, deportment, and overall carriage.

    the necessities of pomp, grandeur, and a suitable port in the world

    a. 1717 (date written), Robert South, Five Additional Volumes of Sermons Preached upon Several Occasions

    Note

    An old word for how a person holds and presents themselves, a near synonym of deportment and portance. Spenser pairs stately grace with princely port, and Robert South's suitable port in the world stretches it toward one's station in life. It is archaic now and best kept for period writing, though Samuel Beckett's Watt (1953) still sets the port beside the voice and the smell. Source

    Checked 31 Oct 2026 · 5 facts

    • Port denotes a person's bearing or carriage and is near-synonymous with deportment and portance. en.wiktionary.org
    • Edmund Spenser pairs 'stately grace' with 'princely port'. gutenberg.org
    • Robert South uses 'suitable port in the world' in discussing the outward manner of life associated with wealth. ccel.org
    • Samuel Beckett wrote Watt, whose first edition appeared in 1953. search.worldcat.org
    • Watt places 'the port' beside 'the voice' and 'the smell'. en.wiktionary.org
22. 22
    noun

    A set of files used to build and install a runnable program from the source code of an application.
23. 23
    noundialectalScotland

    An entryway or gate, especially one set into the defensive wall of a town or fortress.

    Him I accuse / The city ports by this hath enter'd

    1623, Shakespeare, Coriolanus
24. 24
    noun

    In bowls or curling, a narrow gap between bowls or stones already in play that leaves room for a delivered one to slip through.
25. 25
    noun

    A device used to carry something, especially a frame that holds the wicks during candle-making.