Meaning & use
port of embarkation
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Meanings
nouncountableformal
The place where passengers or troops get on a ship or aircraft to begin a journey.
Grammar: Countable: you can say 'a port of embarkation' or 'the port of embarkation'; the plural is 'ports of embarkation'.
Patterns
- the port of embarkation for something
- leave from a port of embarkation
- designated port of embarkation
The troops gathered at the port of embarkation before sailing at dawn.
Southampton was the port of embarkation for thousands of passengers that summer.
Please arrive at your port of embarkation two hours before departure.
nouncountablemilitaryspecialist
In military transport, the official starting point recorded for a person or unit being sent overseas.
Grammar: Often used with 'at' or 'from': 'recorded at the port of embarkation'.
Patterns
- recorded at the port of embarkation
- embarkation at a port
His service record lists New York as his port of embarkation.
The unit's port of embarkation was changed at the last minute.
Word forms
| plural | ports of embarkation |
|---|
Common combinations
- port of embarkation and port of debarkation
- The form asks for both your port of embarkation and your port of debarkation.
- designated port of embarkation
- Soldiers must travel to the designated port of embarkation on the date ordered.
- leave from a port of embarkation
- The ship left from a small port of embarkation on the coast.
- arrive at the port of embarkation
- Families arrived at the port of embarkation to say goodbye.
Synonyms and how they differ
- departure point
- More general and used for any kind of journey, not only ships or military transport.
- embarkation point
- Very close in meaning, but 'port' specifically suggests a harbor or seaport.
Opposites
Word family
- embark verb
- To get on a ship or aircraft to start a journey.
- embarkation noun
- The act of getting on a ship or aircraft.
- disembark verb
- To get off a ship or aircraft at the end of a journey.
Commonly confused: port of embarkation or port of call? port of embarkation or point of embarkation?
port of embarkation vs port of call
A port of call is a place a ship stops at during a voyage, which may not be where the journey began.
port of embarkation vs point of embarkation
This means the same thing but is not limited to a seaport; it can be any starting place.
Practice
Which sentence uses 'port of embarkation' correctly?
Choose one answer.
'Port of embarkation' is where a journey begins, so checking in there before boarding fits. Option 0 confuses it with 'port of call', a stop during a voyage; option 2 describes the end of a journey (debarkation); option 3 describes ordinary port work, not starting a voyage.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “port of embarkation”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.