harbor

/ˈhɑːbə/

//ˈhɑːbə// noun

By · According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA) ·

"harbor" is a 6-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“harbor” has 9 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #5,599. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#5,599
frequency rank, English
2,646
“H” headwords
9
tracked misspellings
10
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - Any place of shelter.

Corpus desk

Index EN-harbor · harbor · English

harbor · rank #5,599 · 9 variants · 10 confusables

  • FREQ-COMMON #5,599
  • LEN-LONG 6 letters
  • VOW-2 2 vowels
  • CONFUS-MID 10 pairs
  • VAR-MID 9 variants
  • BOOK-MID 2,646
  • PHOTO-FINISH grants

Nearest frequency peer: grants (-1 rank slots)

Read with this headword: Spelling guide for this pattern

Desk codes from Wiktionary headword shape, FrequencyWords rank tier, confusable-pair count, generated misspelling depth, letter-cohort book size, and photo-finish peer. Not a difficulty grade.

Rank peers near misspelling magnet “harbor”

Same rarity band: useful when a typo lands on a peer headword

corpus weight

What this shows “harbor” sits among these FrequencyWords peers; misspelling depth is tracked separately in the edit-distance chart.

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 3, 2026

Visual similarity to commonly confused words

How many letter changes separate each confused pair (Levenshtein distance, normalized).

harbor vs harder
67% similar
harbor vs horror
67% similar
harbor vs harper
67% similar

Source: PlainSpell confusable corpus (Wiktionary, CC BY-SA).

Key facts for harbor
PropertyValue
Headwordharbor
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/ˈhɑːbə/
Letters6
Frequency rank#5,599
Misspellings tracked9
Confusable pairs10
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Frequency seat of misspelling magnet “harbor”

Every-word frequency runs from the handful of words we use constantly (left) to the long tail used once in a blue moon (right).harborlands here:

#1#100#1K#10K#100K
← used constantlyrarely used →

Ticks step logarithmically, so each one marks a roughly tenfold drop in how often the word turns up. Same rarity band neighbours include “grants” (#5,598), “Harvey” (#5,600), “finest” (#5,597). Among 2,646 “H” headwords, “harbor” is #5,599. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 9 spelling variants around harbor (IPA /ˈhɑːbə/), anoun. Corpus frequency is #5,599 among 2,646 “H” headwords. Wiktionary lists 5 senses, so context still picks the gloss.

Our generated misspelling index lists 9 likely wrong-spelling variants for harbor, with forms such as "ahrbor", "habror", and "harbbor". Every one of these variants traces to a single-character edit -- an added or dropped letter, a swapped consonant, or a vowel swap -- the kind of slip a spell-checker is built to catch. It also participates in 10 confusable-pair relationships, "harder", "horror", "harper", and more, where similar look or sound leads writers to substitute one word for another in context.

Etymologically, the entry records: From Middle English herberwe, herber, from Old English herebeorg (“shelter, lodgings, quarters”), from Proto-West Germanic *harjabergu (“army shelter, refuge”), from *harjaz (“army”) + *bergō (“protection”), equivalent to Old English here (“army, host”) + b… The correct English form is harbor, spelled H-A-R-B-O-R.

Definition

  1. 1
    Any place of shelter.
  2. 2
    A sheltered expanse of water, adjacent to land, in which ships may anchor or dock, especially for loading and unloading.
  3. 3
    A mixing box for materials.
  4. 4
    A house of the zodiac, or the mansion of a heavenly body.
  5. 5
    Shelter, refuge.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

These source excerpts show how harbor appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.

  1. The neighborhood is a well-known harbor for petty thieves.
  2. [T]here aboutes dwelt greate multitudes of people half wilde, hiding thẽſelues in caues of the grounde, of ſmall ſtature, and very fearefull, for as ſoone as they ſawe them they fled into their holes, and that there was a great riuer and very good harborough.

Etymology

From Middle English herberwe, herber, from Old English herebeorg (“shelter, lodgings, quarters”), from Proto-West Germanic *harjabergu (“army shelter, refuge”), from *harjaz (“army”) + *bergō (“protection”), equivalent to Old English here (“army, host”) + beorg (“defense, protection, refuge”). Doublet of albergo and auberge. See also borrow, bury, harbinger, harry and here.

This word in other languages

puerto(Español)havre(Français)Hafen(Deutsch)porto(Português)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • ahrbor
  • habror
  • harbbor
  • harborr
  • harbro
  • harobr
  • harrbor
  • hharbor
  • hrabor

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of harbor - counted as single-character edits (an insertion, a deletion, or a substituted letter). The larger the bar, the easier the typo is to spot; one-edit slips are the ones that sneak past readers.

ahrbor2habror2harbbor1harborr1harbro2harobr2harrbor1hharbor1
Edit distance from "harbor"

Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA); frequency ordering uses the FrequencyWords open word-frequency list (2018 English corpus, MIT). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "harbor"?
"harbor" is spelled H-A-R-B-O-R. The IPA pronunciation is /ˈhɑːbə/.
What does "harbor" mean?
As a noun, "harbor" means: Any place of shelter.
What words are commonly confused with "harbor"?
"harbor" is commonly confused with "harder", "horror", "harper". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "harbor"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "harbor" is /ˈhɑːbə/. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What is the origin of the word "harbor"?
From Middle English herberwe, herber, from Old English herebeorg (“shelter, lodgings, quarters”), from Proto-West Germanic *harjabergu (“army shelter, refuge”), from *harjaz (“army”) + *bergō (“protection”), equivalent to Old English here (“army, ... See the full etymology section above for more details.
Is PlainSpell free to use?
Yes, PlainSpell is a completely free word reference. You can look up definitions, pronunciations, confusable pairs, homophones, and spelling corrections across 5 languages without any sign-up or subscription.

Similar English words by spelling shape

Same letter count and similar misspelling depth for "harbor", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 6 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

grants#5,598Harvey#5,600finest#5,597farmer#5,596

Similar misspelling depth

Headwords with a similar count of attested misspellings (9 here; floor ≥5).

inform9 variantsJeremy9 variantslovers9 variantsminded9 variants

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list