Harpers Ferry

American

[hahr-perz] / ˈhɑr pərz /

Or Harper's Ferry

noun

a town in NE West Virginia at the confluence of the Shenandoah and Potomac rivers: site of John Brown's raid 1859.

Harper's Ferry British

/ ˈhɑːpəz /

noun

a village in NE West Virginia, at the confluence of the Potomac and Shenandoah Rivers: site of an arsenal seized by John Brown (1859). Pop: 302 (2003 est)

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Harpers Ferry Cultural

The place now in West Virginia where the militant abolitionist John Brown was captured in 1859, after he seized a federal arsenal there.

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

He led fourteen white men and five black men on a raid of the government armory at Harpers Ferry, Virginia.

From Literature

“The thing I’ll miss most from home is my mom’s stuffing, it’s my favorite,” said Clayton Stock-Friends, a young member of the West Virginia National Guard from Harpers Ferry, sporting a red beret and sunglasses.

From The Wall Street Journal

He was the man who, in 1859, led his sons and fellow abolitionists, Black and white, on a raid of the federal armory at Harpers Ferry in Virginia, now in West Virginia.

From Los Angeles Times

As a solo director, Albert has worked on the hilarious Raid on Harpers Ferry parody "Good Lord Bird," "Alpha" and now, "The Continental: From the World of John Wick."

From Salon

Maryland State Police rescued a hiker and his dog on Sunday after learning the two were stuck on a cliff above the Shenandoah River in Harpers Ferry, West Virginia.

From Washington Times

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023