VocabularyBasePractice words

Meaning & use

port of entry

noun·Academic

Last updated

UK/ˌpɔːt əv ˈentri/
US/ˌpɔrt əv ˈentri/

Meanings

  1. nouncountablelegal

    A place such as an airport, seaport or border crossing where people and goods officially arrive in a country and are checked.

    Grammar: Countable; plural is ports of entry, not port of entries.

    Patterns

    • port of entry into a country
    • at the port of entry

    Travelers must show their passports at the port of entry.

    Miami is a major port of entry for goods from South America.

    Customs officers inspected the shipment at the port of entry.

  2. nouncountablefigurative

    The first place or route through which something new, such as a disease or an idea, enters a region or body.

    Grammar: Used figuratively, often in medicine: the wound was a port of entry for infection.

    Patterns

    • a port of entry for something

    A small cut can be a port of entry for bacteria.

    The city served as a port of entry for new ideas.

    The mosquito's bite is the port of entry for the virus.

Word forms

pluralports of entry

Common combinations

official port of entry
The airport is an official port of entry for the country.
arrive at a port of entry
Visitors must arrive at a port of entry with valid documents.
land port of entry
The land port of entry stays open all night.
designated port of entry
Goods must pass through a designated port of entry.
first port of entry
Spain was their first port of entry into Europe.

Synonyms and how they differ

border crossing
Border crossing refers to a point on a land border, while port of entry also includes airports and seaports.
entry point
Entry point is a plain phrase and can apply to anything, whereas port of entry is an official term.
gateway
Gateway is more figurative and describes a place that gives access to a region, not necessarily with checks.
checkpoint
A checkpoint is any place where people are stopped and checked, while a port of entry is where they officially enter.

Opposites

port of exitdeparture point

Word family

port noun
a harbor or place where ships load and unload
entry noun
the act of entering or a way in
enter verb
to go into a place
entrant noun
a person who enters a country or competition

Commonly confused: port of entry or point of entry?

port of entry vs point of entry

Point of entry is a general phrase for any place of entering, while port of entry is an official location for border checks.

Practice

A traveler lands in a foreign country and goes through passport control. The airport is acting as a ____.

Make it your own

Write a sentence using “port of entry”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.

Your sentence stays on this page and is not sent anywhere.

Explore more words