harbored

Harbored means to have kept a secret or an idea inside your mind for a while. It can also mean to provide shelter or protection for someone or something.

When we say that someone harbored a secret, it usually means they were keeping it hidden from others and might not have even talked about it with themselves. For example, "She harbored doubts about the new job until she finally quit." In this case, she had these doubts inside her mind but didn't express them to anyone else.

But "harbored" can also be used for things like buildings or places that give people a safe space to stay. "The old ship harbored sailors during a storm" means the ship provided shelter from the bad weather.