anvil

[an-vil]

noun

1. a heavy iron block with a smooth face, frequently of steel, on which metals, usually heated until soft, are hammered into desired shapes.

2. anything having a similar form or use.

3. the fixed jaw in certain measuring instruments.

4. Also called anvil cloud,. Also called anvil top. Meteorology.,  incus.

5. a musical percussion instrument having steel bars that are struck with a wooden or metal beater.

6. Anatomy.,  incus.

anvil

/ ˈænvɪl /

noun

1. a heavy iron or steel block on which metals are hammered during forging

2. any part having a similar shape or function, such as the lower part of a telegraph key

3. the fixed jaw of a measurement device against which the piece to be measured is held

4. anatomy the nontechnical name for incus

Word History and Origins

Origin of anvil¹

before 900; Middle English anvelt, anfelt, Old English anfilt ( e ), anfealt; cognate with Middle Dutch anvilte, Old High German anafalz. See on, felt ²

Word History and Origins

Origin of anvil¹

Old English anfealt; related to Old High German anafalz, Middle Dutch anvilte; see _on , _felt ²

Example Sentences

For example, among the objects recovered were both a large anvil and a small anvil, two stone hammerheads commonly used in metalworking, and several stone polishers.

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The balls, which were delivered directly from the manufacturer to the officiating crew before each game, could be so stiff that kickers felt like they were driving their foot into an anvil.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

Domestically, Modi has announced some help for struggling exporters and there are tax cuts on the anvil to mitigate the impact on exports.

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Every fourth or fifth joke has the air of having been hammered out on an anvil, and a few might have been better left in the smithery.

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Les Capon, project manager with AOC Archaeology, said he believed part of the area could have been a blacksmith's workshop after discovering evidence of a forge and an anvil.

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