anchor

[ang-ker]

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR anchor ON THESAURUS.COM

noun

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.

any similar device for holding fast or checking motion: an anchor of stones.

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

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

a person or thing that can be relied on for support, stability, or security; mainstay: Hope was his only anchor.

Radio and Television. 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.

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

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

Slang. automotive brakes.

Military. a key position in defense lines.

Also anchorman. Sports.

the person on a team, especially a relay team, who competes last.
the person farthest to the rear on a tug-of-war team.

verb (used with object)

to hold fast by an anchor.

to fix or fasten; affix firmly: The button was anchored to the cloth with heavy thread.

to act or serve as an anchor for: He anchored the evening news.

verb (used without object)

to drop anchor; lie or ride at anchor: The ship anchored at dawn.

to keep hold or be firmly fixed: The insect anchored fast to its prey.

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

Idioms

at anchor, held in place by an anchor: The luxury liner is at anchor in the harbor.

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

drop anchor, to anchor a vessel: They dropped anchor in a bay to escape the storm.

weigh anchor, to raise the anchor: We will weigh anchor at dawn.

Origin of anchor

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

Related formsan·chor·a·ble, adjectivean·chor·less, adjectivean·chor·like, adjectivere·an·chor, verbun·an·chored, adjectivewell-an·chored, adjective

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Related Words for anchor

mainstay, secure, dock, fix, attach, moor, fasten, grip, hold, defense, safeguard, support, comfort, stay, hook, fastener, protection, bower, ballast, security

Examples from the Web for anchor

Contemporary Examples of anchor

Removing choice is bullying and seems a horrid basis on which to anchor your relationship.
Public Marriage Proposals Must Die
Tauriq Moosa
December 28, 2014
Have a kid here –what some pejoratively refer to as an “anchor baby” – and it is tougher to be deported.
The Progressive Case Against Birthright Citizenship
Keli Goff
December 15, 2014
“When immigrants hear ‘anchor babies,’ they hear ‘they hate us,’” says Sharry.
Get Ready to Start Hearing About ‘Executive Amnesty for Anchor Babies’
Eleanor Clift
November 19, 2014
In an interview last week, Jeff Daniels, who plays ACN anchor Will McAvoy, talked to me about this.
‘Newsroom’ Premiere: Aaron Sorkin Puts CNN on Blast Over the Boston Bombing
Kevin Fallon
November 10, 2014
Moderator Alicia Menendez, an anchor on the Fusion network, asked about the influence of her children.
Live from San Antonio: Women in the World Texas!
Women in the World
October 23, 2014

Historical Examples of anchor

They saw an American ship riding at anchor a mile or more from shore.
Brave and Bold
Horatio Alger
Next morning, however, we saw her at anchor in the channel that leads to Kingston.
Ned Myers
James Fenimore Cooper
This was laying an anchor to-windward, as it turned out, in the end.
Ned Myers
James Fenimore Cooper
This was a bad beginning, and by the time we reached a tavern, I was ready to anchor.
Ned Myers
James Fenimore Cooper
And then, in a stronger voice, he said: "Anchor, Hardy; anchor."
The Life of Horatio Lord Nelson
Robert Southey

British Dictionary definitions for anchor

anchor

noun

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

an object used to hold something else firmly in placethe rock provided an anchor for the rope

a source of stability or securityreligion was his anchor

a metal cramp, bolt, or similar fitting, esp one used to make a connection to masonry
(as modifier)anchor bolt; anchor plate

the rear person in a tug-of-war team
short for anchorman, anchorwoman

at anchor (of a vessel) anchored

cast anchor, come to anchor or drop anchor to anchor a vessel

drag anchor See drag (def. 13)

ride at anchor to be anchored

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

verb

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

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

(tr) radio television to act as an anchorman on

Word Origin for anchor

Old English ancor, from Latin ancora, from Greek ankura; related to Greek ankos bend; compare Latin uncus bent, hooked

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for anchor

Old English ancor, borrowed 9c. from Latin ancora "anchor," from or cognate with Greek ankyra "anchor, hook" (see ankle). A very early borrowing and said to be the only Latin nautical term used in the Germanic languages. The -ch- form emerged late 16c., a pedantic imitation of a corrupt spelling of the Latin word. The figurative sense of "that which gives stability or security" is from late 14c. Meaning "host or presenter of a TV or radio program" is from 1965, short for anchorman.

c.1200, from anchor (n.). Related: Anchored; anchoring.