sheet anchor

American  

noun

1. Nautical. a large anchor used only in cases of emergency.

2. a final reliance or resource, as when in danger.

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sheet anchor British  

noun

1. nautical a large strong anchor for use in emergency

2. a person or thing to be relied upon in an emergency

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Etymology

Origin of sheet anchor

First recorded in 1485–95

Example Sentences

Yet, Jane — Tomalin calls her “the true heroine of this story” — remained the sheet anchor of his life, as well as his typist.

From Washington Post • Nov. 2, 2021

In summer he manages his two dairy farms, calls them "a sheet anchor against inflation."

From Time Magazine Archive

We have trusted to it as to the sheet anchor of our safety in the stormy times of conflict with a foreign or domestic foe.

From The Crisis of Eighteen Hundred and Sixty-One In The Government of The United States. Its Cause, and How it Should be Met by Steight, A. D.

No, sir, by Henry, I'd heave him the sheet anchor.

From Fair Harbor by Lincoln, Joseph Crosby

For a time he followed the business of making anchors for vessels but was soon called to the more important work of aiding in the construction of the sheet anchor of freedom.

From Sages and Heroes of the American Revolution by Judson, L. Carroll