port

/pɔːt/

//pɔːt// noun

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

"port" is a 4-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“port” is a regularly-used English word, ranked #1,913 in English word frequency and used as a noun.

#1,913
frequency rank, English
4
letters
5
tracked misspellings
20
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - A place on the coast at which ships can shelter, or dock to load and unload cargo or passengers.

Visual similarity to commonly confused words

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

port vs PR
0% similar
port vs pt
50% similar
port vs put
50% similar

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

Key facts for port
PropertyValue
Headwordport
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/pɔːt/
Letters4
Frequency rank#1,913
Misspellings tracked5
Confusable pairs20
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Where “port” sits in English frequency

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

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

Scale is logarithmic (each tick is 10× rarer). Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

The English entry for port is 4 letters long, classified as a noun, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as /pɔːt/. Corpus data places it at rank #1,913 in overall English word frequency, indicating it appears regularly in written and spoken text. Wiktionary records 4 distinct senses for this headword, so context determines which meaning a reader should apply.

Our generated misspelling index lists 5 likely wrong-spelling variants for port, with forms such as "oprt", "porrt", and "portt". Each of these forms differs from the correct spelling by one small edit: a doubled letter, a dropped silent letter, or a substituted vowel. It also participates in 20 confusable-pair relationships, "PR", "pt", "put", and more, a pairing that trips writers up because the two words share enough sound or shape to blur together.

Etymologically, the entry records: 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 t… The correct English form is port, spelled P-O-R-T.

Definition

  1. 1
    A place on the coast at which ships can shelter, or dock to load and unload cargo or passengers.
  2. 2
    A town or city containing such a place, a port city.
  3. 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. 4
    A sweep rower that primarily rows with an oar on the port side.

Etymology

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.

This word in other languages

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

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as: oprt,porrt,portt,potr,pport

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of port - 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.

oprt2porrt1portt1potr2pport1
Edit distance from "port"

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 "port"?
"port" is spelled P-O-R-T. The IPA pronunciation is /pɔːt/.
What does "port" mean?
As a noun, "port" means: A place on the coast at which ships can shelter, or dock to load and unload cargo or passengers.
What words are commonly confused with "port"?
"port" is commonly confused with "PR", "pt", "put". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "port"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "port" is /pɔːt/. 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 "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 vess... 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.

Using “port”

The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.

  • The one correct English spelling is P-O-R-T - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
  • Say it as /pɔːt/ (IPA); tap the speaker on the pronunciation badge to hear it where audio exists.
  • Don't mix it up with “PR” - see the side-by-side comparison. port vs PR
  • Browse more English words and confusable pairs in the same reference. English words
Data Source

Wiktionary (via kaikki.org), licensed under CC BY-SA & GFDL. Word ordering uses an open word-frequency list; misspelling variants are generated by edit-distance from the correct headword.

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list FrequencyWords open word-frequency list