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

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

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

Staff were told of proposals including ending Radio 4's The World Tonight, and reducing the number of permanent presenters on Today from five to four, with a single anchor on Saturdays.

From BBC ● Oct. 8, 2026

Days before, he delivered a characteristically crude address that singled out CNN anchor Kaitlan Collins in front of a hostile crowd, eliciting angry boos and vicious chants.

From Salon ● Oct. 6, 2026

I had had a kidney transplant from Phillip Palmer, who’s the morning anchor at ABC7, and it was a really big story back in 2007.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 1, 2026

“Cutting free of that anchor leaves only one direction for rates across the curve in this environment — higher,” Duy said in a recent note to clients.

From MarketWatch ● Sep. 29, 2026

I have to crawl out by grabbing at the dogs and using them for an anchor.

From "Woodsong" by Gary Paulsen

However, publicly available studies on its projects “are non-existent, leaving few anchors on which to pin modeling assumptions.”

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 18, 2026

MS NOW Membership is also giving subscribers a chance to join live discussions with the network’s anchors and reporters.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 8, 2026

A technology called Distributed Acoustic Sensing can turn optical fibres into sensors capable of detecting vibrations from ships, anchors or underwater vehicles – potentially identifying threats before a cable is severed.

From BBC ● Sep. 3, 2026

Globally, there are an estimated 150-200 cable faults a year, external, most caused not by saboteurs but by fishing, ship anchors, natural hazards and equipment failure.

From BBC ● Sep. 3, 2026

“Move the anchors? Do you think that’s how to move the citadel?”

From "Strange the Dreamer" by Laini Taylor

In the tug of war between bears and bulls, each side is anchored by data.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 8, 2026

For all the concern over inflation being too high for too long, a market-based measure points to it remaining more anchored over the long term.

From MarketWatch ● Sep. 30, 2026

“When people think fixed income, they’re anchored to what it was when rates were near zero, but you’re in a different yield environment than you have been over the last 15 years.”

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 30, 2026

Many Germans I've spoken to feel their nation has drifted away from the things that once anchored their identity.

From BBC ● Sep. 25, 2026

While the boats are anchored, we passengers are allowed up on deck, and so I stand at the railing to watch the longboats glide through water clear as turquoise glass.

From "Blood on the River" by Elisa Carbone

"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

After anchoring a boat, they placed an underwater speaker in the water and allowed it to drift with the current as far as 19 meters from the vessel.

From Science Daily ● Sep. 30, 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

So does Rebecca Lowe, who has ridden that wave while anchoring the network’s Premier League coverage from the first season.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 1, 2026

The curse of Delos - anchoring that which cannot be anchored.

From "Blood of Olympus" by Rick Riordan

Related Words

• attach
• dock
• fasten
• fix
• moor
• secure
• tie up