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

Monetary policy often turns on how the chairman builds consensus by steering the committee’s center, and chairs have historically relied on lieutenants they helped pick to anchor it.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 8, 2026

The division announced Thursday that Daly will join co-anchor Laura Jarrett, feature anchor Joe Fryer and meteorlogist Angie Lassman on the Saturday edition of its morning franchise starting this weekend.

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

“Stranger Things” used Metallica’s hard-charging “Master of Puppets” to anchor a crucial scene, and that was “huge for us in helping to spread to a younger audience,” Burnstein said.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 3, 2026

Suma and Voxy each hold onto part of my bag while Feathers and Rubio anchor them to the shore, until against the river’s current, they hoist me onto land.

From "The Last Cuentista" by Donna Barba Higuera

Suddenly the surest path to growing market share for a local station was no longer hiring the most popular news anchors or broadcasting the local college’s sporting events, but securing “Seinfeld” rights.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 23, 2026

Their hosts feel less distant than cable news anchors, more like people speaking honestly without a script.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 20, 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 magnetic field. Is there machinery inside the anchors or something?”

From "Strange the Dreamer" by Laini Taylor

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

From Barron's ● Nov. 9, 2026

“And that’s a testament to Cole writing something very true and anchored in real emotion. I think anyone who has ever felt underestimated or misunderstood or overlooked can really identify with this role.”

From Los Angeles Times ● Nov. 3, 2026

Instead, their prices are anchored to the underlying asset by a system of funding rates.

From MarketWatch ● Nov. 3, 2026

Many Israelis want to see their country more firmly anchored in liberal and secular values.

From BBC ● Oct. 28, 2026

Spies reported that there were now more than 430 British ships anchored off nearby Staten Island, and at least forty thousand soldiers.

From I Survived the American Revolution, 1776 by Lauren Tarshis

When the building wraps around the shuttle itself it reads as a gleaming, cone-shaped beacon, visible from far away; tracing the shuttle’s dimensions and anchoring the museum in Expo Park.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 27, 2026

In these performances, Parton demonstrated a balance of humour and emotional depth, often anchoring scenes with a distinctly understated presence.

From BBC ● Aug. 25, 2026

He has slashed .234/.357/.486 over 1,039 regular-season games with the club, anchoring lineups alongside countless big-name teammates while evolving into a trustworthy defender.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 17, 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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