port
PORT is a harbor or a vessel’s left side; the four-letter word scores 6 points in Scrabble and has one anagram, TROP.
Noun 4 meanings
A place on the coast at which ships can shelter, or dock to load and unload cargo or passengers.
A town or city containing such a place, a port city.
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.
A sweep rower that primarily rows with an oar on the port side.
“Each eight has four ports and four starboards.”
Adjective 1 meaning
Of or relating to port, the left-hand side of a vessel when facing the bow.
“on the port side”
Verb 4 meanings
To turn or put to the left or larboard side of a ship; said of the helm.
“Port your helm!”
To dock at a port.
To carry, bear, bring, or transport. See porter.
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.
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).
Similar and opposite words
PORT has several connected meanings: a place where ships shelter or dock, a town with such a harbor, and the left side of a vessel facing forward. Its Scrabble value comes mostly from P, worth 3 points, while O, R, and T each add 1. The single anagram is less familiar than the original word.
PORT at a glance
- PORT is a four-letter English word with a Scrabble face value of 6 points.
- The P supplies 3 of PORT’s 6 points; O, R, and T are worth 1 point each.
- TROP is the only anagram of PORT.
- PORT can mean a harbor, a harbor town, or a vessel’s left-hand side.
What does PORT mean?
PORT most often names a coastal place where ships can shelter or dock to load and unload cargo or passengers. The word can also describe a town or city built around such a harbor, so a port may mean either the facility or the settlement beside it.
On a vessel, PORT means the left-hand side when you face forward. That fixed reference avoids confusion about which way a person or object onboard is facing. The word also has a specialist rowing sense: a sweep rower who primarily rows with an oar on that side.
PORT scores 6 points before board bonuses: P is worth 3, and O, R, and T are worth 1 apiece. P carries half the total, so placing it on a letter premium has more impact than boosting any of the other three tiles.
PORT’s anagram and one-letter neighbors
TROP is the sole anagram, rearranging the same four letters without adding or dropping any. PORT also has 20 one-letter neighbors, including PART, POST, SORT, FORT, and POET. These close alternatives are useful when a board position fixes three letters but leaves one tile open.
PORT shares its ending with familiar rhymes such as SHORT, SPORT, and REPORT. The rhyme group has 12 entries, ranging from everyday words like SORT and FORT to longer choices such as AIRPORT and TRANSPORT. PORT meaning and its letter pattern are distinct from those rhymes, but the shared “ort” ending can spark a move when you have those letters.
Rhymes with port
All rhymesOne letter away
Questions people ask
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