port
/poɹt/noun, adjective, verb
port is spelled P-O-R-T: 4 letters and one syllable. It appears 54 times per million words in written English, the 1,899th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a noun, port means “A place on the coast at which ships can shelter, or dock to load and unload cargo or passengers” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). The plural of port is ports.
How many letters and syllables are in port?
| Letters | 4: P-O-R-T |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 1 (from its American pronunciation) |
| In writing | 54 times per million words; the 1,899th most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
| Rhymes with | |
| Same letters |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation and the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media); rhymes and same-letter words are computed by PlainSpell from its own word list.
How common is port?
Port appears 54 times per million words in written English, the 1,899th most frequent word form in the list.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How do you pronounce port?
- UK /pɔːt/
- British /poːt/
- US /poɹt/
Port has one syllable (counted from its American pronunciation in the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: En-uk-a_port.ogg, En-au-port.ogg, En-us-port.ogg, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
What rhymes with port?
7 words on PlainSpell end in the same sounds as port from its last stressed vowel (/oɹt/):
Spelled with the same letters in another order: trop.
Computed by PlainSpell from the pronunciations in the English Wiktionary (dump of September 2, 2026): a rhyme shares every sound from the last stressed vowel to the end; ordered by written frequency (wordfreq 3.1).
Forms of port
- ports plural, present, singular, he/she/it
- porting participle, present
- ported participle, past
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does port mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
noun
- 1
A place on the coast at which ships can shelter, or dock to load and unload cargo or passengers.
- 2
A town or city containing such a place, a port city.
- 3
The left-hand side of a vessel, including aircraft, when one is facing forward. 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.
- 5
ScotlandAn entryway or gate.
- 6
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.
- 7
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.
- 8
A narrow opening between other players' bowls or stones wide enough for a delivered bowl or stone to pass through.
- 9
An opening where a connection (such as with a pipe) is made.
- 10
An opening with a valve seat such that a valve can control the flow of fluid through the opening.
- 11
A logical or physical construct in and from which data are transferred. Computer port on Wikipedia.Wikipedia
- 12
A female connector of an electronic device, into which a cable's male connector can be inserted.
- 13
Something used to carry a thing, especially a frame for wicks in candle-making.
- 14
archaicThe manner in which a person carries himself; bearing; deportment; carriage. See also portance.
- 15
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.
- 16
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.
- 17
A set of files used to build and install a binary executable file from the source code of an application.
- 18
A type of very sweet fortified wine, mostly dark red, traditionally made in Portugal.
- 19
A suitcase or schoolbag.
- 20
informalThe portfolio of a model or artist or investor.
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.
- 3
To carry, bear, bring, or transport. See porter.
- 4
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!
- 5
To adapt, modify, or recode to work on a different platform.
- 6
To carry or transfer (an existing telephone number) from one service provider to another.
- 7
USTo transfer a voucher or subsidy from one jurisdiction to another.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Port in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| French | port , babord, bâbord , du bâbord , porter , vin de Porto |
| German | Hafen , Backbord , Portwein , Port |
| Portuguese | porto , bombordo , portar , abertura, passagem , porta |
| Spanish | puerto , babor , a babor , portar , vino de Oporto , versión portada |
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.
Where does port come from?
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.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).