Meanings
- A city, unitary authority, and borough of Hampshire, in southern England.
When ready for sea we went up to Greenhithe, that their lordships might inspect us, and then to Portsmouth, to take troops to Cork, a pleasant trip; […]
1892, Sir George Giffard, Reminiscences of a Naval Officer, page 451 more example
Nothing beats a gunboat. HMS Illustrious glided out of Portsmouth on Monday, past HMS Victory and cheering crowds of patriots. Within a week it will be off Gibraltar, a mere cannon shot from Cape Trafalgar.
2013 August 14, Simon Jenkins, “Gibraltar and the Falklands deny the logic of history”, in The Guardian, archived from the original on 22 Apr 2021Synonyms: Pompey
- A village in Todmorden parish, Calderdale borough, West Yorkshire, England, on the border with Lancashire (OS grid ref SD9026).
- A neighbourhood of Kingston, Ontario, Canada.
- A town in Saint John parish, Dominica.
- A number of places in the United States:
- A minor city in Shelby County, Iowa.
- A township in Bay County, Michigan.
- A city in Rockingham County, New Hampshire.
- A former town on Portsmouth Island, Carteret County, North Carolina.
- A city, the county seat of Scioto County, Ohio.
- A neighbourhood in northern Portland, Oregon.
- A town in Newport County, Rhode Island.
[…] not exceeding six Persons for Newport foure Persons for each of the respective Townes of Providence Portsmouth and Warwicke and two Persons for each other Place Towne or Citty […]
1663, John Clarke, Charles II of England (signatory), Rhode Island Royal Charter, archived from the original on 10 Jul 2022, second of three blocks of text, lines 5–6 - An independent city in south-east Virginia.
- An English earldom
Synonyms & antonyms
proper nounA city, unitary authority, and borough of Hampshire, in southern England.
Origin
- Old EnglishPortesmuða
- Middle EnglishPortesmuða
- EnglishPortsmouth
From Middle English Portesmuða, from Old English Portesmuða.
More words from Middle English, Old English
Full word history & related roots →Translations
Bulgarian Портсмът
- Портсмът (Portsmăt)city in southern England
Chinese Mandarin 朴次茅斯, 朴次茅斯
- 朴次茅斯 (Pǔcìmáosī)city in southern England
- 朴次茅斯 (Pǔcìmáosī)town in Dominica
- 朴次茅斯 (Pǔcìmáosī)city in Iowa
- 朴次茅斯 (Pǔcìmáosī)city in New Hampshire
- 朴次茅斯 (Pǔcìmáosī)city in Ohio
- 朴次茅斯 (Pǔcìmáosī)town in Rhode Island
- 朴次茅斯 (Pǔcìmáosī)city in Virginia
Dutch Portsmouth
- Portsmouthcity in southern England
Finnish Portsmouth
- Portsmouthcity in southern England
French Portsmouth
- Portsmouthcity in southern England
German Portsmouth, Portsmouth
- Portsmouthcity in southern England
- Portsmouthtown in Dominica
- Portsmouthcity in Iowa
- Portsmouthcity in New Hampshire
- Portsmouthcity in Ohio
- Portsmouthtown in Rhode Island
- Portsmouthcity in Virginia
Greek Πόρτσμουθ
- Πόρτσμουθ (Pórtsmouth)city in southern England
Hungarian Portsmouth
- Portsmouthcity in southern England
Japanese ポーツマス
- ポーツマス (Pōtsumasu)city in southern England
Korean 포츠머스
- 포츠머스 (Pocheumeoseu)city in southern England
Latin Portus Ostium, Portus Magnus
- Portus Ostiumcity in southern England
- Portus Magnuscity in southern England
Latvian Portsmuta
- Portsmutacity in southern England
Lithuanian Portsmutas
- Portsmutascity in southern England
Norwegian Bokmål Portsmouth, Portsmouth
- Portsmouthcity in southern England
- Portsmouthtown in Dominica
- Portsmouthcity in Iowa
- Portsmouthcity in New Hampshire
- Portsmouthcity in Ohio
- Portsmouthtown in Rhode Island
- Portsmouthcity in Virginia
Polish Portsmouth, Portsmouth
- Portsmouthcity in southern England
- Portsmouthtown in Dominica
- Portsmouthcity in Iowa
- Portsmouthcity in New Hampshire
- Portsmouthcity in Ohio
- Portsmouthtown in Rhode Island
- Portsmouthcity in Virginia
Portuguese Portsmouth
- Portsmouthcity in southern England
Russian По́ртсмут
- По́ртсмут (Pórtsmut)city in southern England
Spanish Portsmouth
- Portsmouthcity in southern England
Thai พอร์ตสมัท
- พอร์ตสมัท (pôtsàmàt)city in southern England
Ukrainian Портсмут
- Портсмут (Portsmut)city in southern England
Cite this entry
Portsmouth. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 4, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/Portsmouth
“Portsmouth.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/Portsmouth. Accessed November 4, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “Portsmouth,” accessed November 4, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/Portsmouth.
Source: Portsmouth on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.