anchor

American  

[ang-ker] / ˈæŋ kər /

noun

• anchors
  plural

1. any of various devices dropped by a chain, cable, or rope to the bottom of a body of water for preventing or restricting the motion of a vessel or other floating object, typically having broad, hooklike arms that bury themselves in the bottom to provide a firm hold.

2. any similar device for holding fast or checking motion.

   an anchor of stones.

3. any device for securing a suspension or cantilever bridge at either end.

4. any of various devices, as a metal tie, for binding one part of a structure to another.

5. a person or thing that can be relied on for support, stability, or security; mainstay.

   Hope was his only anchor.

6. Radio and Television. Also a person who is the main broadcaster on a program of news, sports, etc., and who usually also serves as coordinator of all participating broadcasters during the program; anchorman or anchorwoman; anchorperson.

7. Television. a program that attracts many viewers who are likely to stay tuned to the network for the programs that follow.

8. Also called anchor store. a well-known store, especially a department store, that attracts customers to the shopping center in which it is located.

9. Slang. automotive brakes.

10. Military. a key position in defense lines.

11. Sports. Also

    1. the person on a team, especially a relay team, who competes last.

    2. the person farthest to the rear on a tug-of-war team.

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verb (used with object)

• anchors,
  present (3rd person singular)
• anchored,
  past participle,  past
• anchoring
  present participle

1. to hold fast by an anchor.

2. to fix or fasten; affix firmly.

   The button was anchored to the cloth with heavy thread.

3. to act or serve as an anchor for.

   He anchored the evening news.

verb (used without object)

• anchors,
  present (3rd person singular)
• anchored,
  past participle,  past
• anchoring
  present participle

1. to drop anchor; lie or ride at anchor.

   The ship anchored at dawn.

2. to keep hold or be firmly fixed.

   The insect anchored fast to its prey.

3. Sports, Radio and Television. to act or serve as an anchor.

idioms

1. drop anchor, to anchor a vessel.

   They dropped anchor in a bay to escape the storm.

2. drag anchor, (of a vessel) to move with a current or wind because an anchor has failed to hold.

3. weigh anchor, to raise the anchor.

   We will weigh anchor at dawn.

4. at anchor, held in place by an anchor.

   The luxury liner is at anchor in the harbor.

anchor British  

/ ˈæŋkə /

noun

1. any of several devices, usually of steel, attached to a vessel by a cable and dropped overboard so as to grip the bottom and restrict the vessel's movement

2. an object used to hold something else firmly in place

   the rock provided an anchor for the rope

3. a source of stability or security

   religion was his anchor

4. 1. a metal cramp, bolt, or similar fitting, esp one used to make a connection to masonry

   2. ( as modifier )

      anchor bolt

      anchor plate

5. 1. the rear person in a tug-of-war team

   2. short for anchorman anchorwoman

6. (of a vessel) anchored

7. to anchor a vessel

8. See drag

9. to be anchored

10. to raise a vessel's anchor or (of a vessel) to have its anchor raised in preparation for departure

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verb

1. to use an anchor to hold (a vessel) in one place

2. to fasten or be fastened securely; fix or become fixed firmly

3. (tr) radio television to act as an anchorman on

Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• reanchor
  verb
• anchorable
  adjective
• anchorless
  adjective
• anchorlike
  adjective
• unanchored
  adjective
• well-anchored
  adjective

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• anchors
  plural

Participles

• anchoring
  present
• anchored
  past

Conjugated Forms

Present

• anchor
  simple
• anchors
  simple
• have anchored
  perfect
• has anchored
  perfect
• am anchoring
  progressive
• are anchoring
  progressive
• is anchoring
  progressive
• have been anchoring
  perfect progressive
• has been anchoring
  perfect progressive

Past

• anchored
  simple
• had anchored
  perfect
• was anchoring
  progressive
• were anchoring
  progressive
• had been anchoring
  perfect progressive

Future

• will anchor
  simple
• will have anchored
  perfect
• will be anchoring
  progressive
• will have been anchoring
  perfect progressive

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Etymology

Origin of anchor

First recorded before 900; Middle English anker, ancre, Old English ancor, ancer, ancra (compare Old Frisian, Middle Dutch, Middle Low German anker ), from Latin anc(h)ora, from Greek ánkȳra

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Explanation

On a boat, an anchor is a heavy object attached to a rope. You toss it overboard, it sinks to the bottom, and your vessel doesn't move. Anchor has the sense of what holds something in place. When you anchor a bookshelf to the wall, you affix it to the wall so it won't come down. The anchor of a relay race is the last person to run. It's their job to hold the team's lead. And on televised news, the anchor is the person who is front and center delivering the current events, the one who draws viewers to the news on that particular station.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

anchor anchors anchored anchoring

He also doesn’t need to be wrapped in bubble wrap, but ideally he’d ramp up for the anchor leg instead of sprinting for the full marathon.

From Los Angeles Times ● Nov. 7, 2026

Investors were wrong to anchor their views of Treasury yields when they were superlow for many years.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 6, 2026

Harold Greene, a beloved Los Angeles news anchor, has died.

From Los Angeles Times ● Nov. 5, 2026

He left ABC7 in 2000, but continued his work as a dynamic anchor at KCBS-TV and KCAL-TV until his retirement in 2008.

From Los Angeles Times ● Nov. 5, 2026

After being traded once more, he was brought aboard a large, strange ship riding at anchor.

From "In the Shadow of Liberty" by Kenneth C. Davis

Hill said that for a fourth consecutive quarter Barrick improved safety, advanced growth projects, returned significant capital to shareholders and strengthen Nevada Gold Mines, the gold asset that anchors its operations in North America.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 9, 2026

Outdoors, a swimming pool anchors the backyard, surrounded by mature trees and multiple areas for lounging, dining, and hosting guests.

From MarketWatch ● Oct. 15, 2026

The lesson Holmes is referencing is the couple’s big relationship reveal, which happened while they were both anchors on “GMA3” and married to other people.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 14, 2026

The holding midfielder, usually Rodrigo Bentancur, anchors the midfield in front of Spurs' two central defenders with this trio remaining fairly fixed.

From BBC ● Sep. 18, 2026

The crew scattered to their jobs, running to release the lines on the ship and raise the anchors.

From "Ship Breaker" by Paolo Bacigalupi

It added that the ship "is currently anchored in Singapore port waters".

From Barron's ● Nov. 9, 2026

Elsewhere, oil is held in giant aboveground tanks or even aboard tankers anchored offshore.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 9, 2026

But how long will Sunderland's hierarchy remain patient if the club, two points from safety, stay anchored in the bottom three?

From BBC ● Nov. 4, 2026

Located in Huffman, Texas, the 13.49-acre property is anchored by an 11,968-square-foot Mediterranean-style mansion.

From MarketWatch ● Oct. 21, 2026

Obinze, who anchored her through that summer of waiting—his steady voice over the phone, his long letters in blue airmail envelopes—and who understood, as summer was ending, the new gnawing in her stomach.

From "Americanah" by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie

"We used structural studies and biophysical measurements to determine that TCIP3 acts as a kind of molecular glue, anchoring these proteins together," Gourisankar said.

From Science Daily ● Oct. 8, 2026

World Trade Center downtown into a 512-unit complex anchoring a campaign to build 4,000 affordable apartments across L.A.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 5, 2026

Sundararajan says the designation should bring faster clearances, emergency repair mechanisms and an Indian cable-repair capability, along with legally protected cable zones around landing sites and routes, restricting anchoring and trawling.

From BBC ● Sep. 3, 2026

“We anticipate one further rate increase later this year on the basis of the RBA seeking to address the current inflation challenge and to mitigate anchoring of inflation expectations higher,” she added.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 11, 2026

We were surrounded by love—the eclectic, multicultural Obama kind and the anchoring Robinsons-from-the-South-Side kind, all of it now interwoven visibly, pew to pew, inside the church.

From "Becoming" by Michelle Obama

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