dock vs harbor

dock

noun
  • A structure attached to shore for loading and unloading vessels. 

  • The place of arrival and departure of a train in a railway station. 

  • A section of a hotel or restaurant. 

  • A device designed as a base for holding a connected portable appliance such as a laptop computer (in this case, referred to as a docking station), or a mobile telephone, for providing the necessary electrical charge for its autonomy, or as a hardware extension for additional capabilities. 

  • Any of the genus Rumex of coarse weedy plants with small green flowers related to buckwheat, especially bitter dock (Rumex obtusifolius), and used as potherbs and in folk medicine, especially in curing nettle rash. 

  • A fixed structure attached to shore to which a vessel is secured when in port. 

  • A burdock plant, or the leaves of that plant. 

  • The fleshy root of an animal's tail. 

  • A toolbar that provides the user with a way of launching applications, and switching between running applications. 

  • An act of docking; joining two things together. 

  • Part of a courtroom where the accused sits. 

  • The part of the tail which remains after the tail has been docked. 

  • A leather case to cover the clipped or cut tail of a horse. 

  • The body of water between two piers. 

verb
  • To join two moving items. 

  • To move a spaceship into its dock/berth under its own power. 

  • To engage in the sexual practice of docking (where the tip of one participant's penis is inserted into the foreskin of the other participant). 

  • To cut off, bar, or destroy. 

  • To pierce with holes, as pricking pastry or dough with a fork to prevent excessive rising in the oven. 

  • To cut off a section of an animal's tail, to practise a caudectomy. 

  • To land at a harbour. 

  • To drag a user interface element (such as a toolbar) to a position on screen where it snaps into place. 

  • To reduce (wages); to deduct from. 

  • To place (an electronic device) in its dock. 

harbor

noun
  • A sheltered expanse of water, adjacent to land, in which ships may anchor or dock, especially for loading and unloading. 

  • Any place of shelter. 

  • A mixing box for materials. 

  • A harbor, even if it is a little harbor, is a good thing, since adventurers come into it as well as go out, and the life in it grows strong, because it takes something from the world, and has something to give in return - Sarah Orne Jewett 

verb
  • To take refuge or shelter in a protected expanse of water. 

  • To drive (a hunted stag) to covert. 

  • To hold or persistently entertain in one's thoughts or mind. 

  • To provide a harbor or safe place for. 

How often have the words dock and harbor occurred in a corpus of books? (source: Google Ngram Viewer )