anchor

Meaning

Noun

1. A tool used to moor a vessel to the bottom of a sea or river to resist movement.
2. An iron device so shaped as to grip the bottom and hold a vessel at her berth by the chain or rope attached. (FM 55-501).
3. The combined anchoring gear (anchor, rode, bill/peak and fittings such as bitts, cat, and windlass.)
4. Representation of the nautical tool, used as a heraldic charge.
5. Any instrument serving a purpose like that of a ship's anchor, such as an arrangement of timber to hold a dam fast; a device to hold the end of a bridge cable etc.; or a device used in metalworking to hold the core of a mould in place.
6. (Internet) A marked point in a document that can be the target of a hyperlink.
7. A line of code in a program which acts as a reference point for further code to be added immediately before or after, usually via copy and paste.
8. An anchorman or anchorwoman.
9. The final runner in a relay race.
10. A point that is touched by the draw hand or string when the bow is fully drawn and ready to shoot.
11. A superstore or other facility that serves as a focus to bring customers into an area.
12. (figuratively) That which gives stability or security.
13. A metal tie holding adjoining parts of a building together.
14. (US) A screw anchor.
15. Carved work, somewhat resembling an anchor or arrowhead; part of the ornaments of certain mouldings. It is seen in the echinus, or egg-and-anchor (called also egg-and-dart, egg-and-tongue) ornament.
16. One of the anchor-shaped spicules of certain sponges.
17. One of the calcareous spinules of certain holothurians, as in species of Synapta.
18. The thirty-fifth Lenormand card.
19. (slang) The brake of a vehicle.
20. A defensive player, especially one who counters the opposition's best offensive player.
21. A batter who remains in for a long time.
22. A device for attaching a climber at the top of a climb, such as a chain or ring or a natural feature.

Verb

1. To connect an object, especially a ship or a boat, to a fixed point.
2. To cast anchor; to come to anchor.
3. To stop; to fix or rest.
4. To provide emotional stability for a person in distress.
5. To perform as an anchorman or anchorwoman.
6. To be stuck; to be unable to move away from a position.

Synonyms

moor

dock

drop anchor

anchorman

ground

berth

anchorperson

ground tackle

mainstay

sinker

linchpin

anchorage

tie

cast anchor

grapnel

fix

backbone

commentator

keystone

lynchpin

park

🏞️

performer

pinion

presenter

pull in

reed

rope up

shackle

shall

sinkers

stay

support

tie down

tie up

voiceover

wharf

call at a port

come alongside

lie at anchor

mooring anchor

ride at anchor

take shelter

talking head

fasten tightly

cable anchor

cost anchor

anchor rope

anchorwoman

anchor-man

anchor store

Translations

ancre

⚓

ancla

⚓

Anker

⚓

ancora

âncora

⚓

άγκυρα

anker

⚓

ancrer

⚓

àncora

⚓

ancora

⚓

anclar

áncora

⚓

ankern

⚓

مرساة

⚓

Pronounced as (IPA)

/ˈæŋ.kə/

Etymology

Inherited from Middle English: anker

Inherited from Old English: ancor

Inherited from Middle English: anchoren

Cognate with Old French: ancrer

In summary

From Middle English anker, from Old English ancor, ancra, from Latin ancora, from (or cognate with) Ancient Greek ἄγκυρα (ánkura). The modern form is a sixteenth-century modification after the Medieval Latin spelling anchora. Doublet of ancora, anker, angora, and Ankara.

Sentences

She is an anchor on the news programme .