Pearl Harbor: Meaning and Definition of

Pearl' Har'bor

Pronunciation: [key]
  1. a harbor near Honolulu, on S Oahu, in Hawaii: surprise attack by Japan on the U.S. naval base and other military installations December 7, 1941.
  2. any significant or crippling defeat, betrayal, loss, etc., that comes unexpectedly.
Random House Unabridged Dictionary, Copyright © 1997, by Random House, Inc., on Infoplease.