sea anchor

American

noun

Nautical.

any of various devices, as a drogue, that have great resistance to being pulled through the water and are dropped forward of a vessel at the end of a cable to hold the bow into the wind or sea during a storm.

sea anchor British

noun

nautical any device, such as a bucket or canvas funnel, dragged in the water to keep a vessel heading into the wind or reduce drifting

"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

Etymology

Origin of sea anchor

First recorded in 1760–70

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

See Examples For:

sea anchor

It was a six-man orange life raft with a sea anchor inside and no visible marine growth or markings.

From Washington Times ● Nov. 9, 2020

A sea anchor that reduces their speed to about 2 knots, too slow to escape a ship.

From Scientific American ● Aug. 9, 2013

The first night they dragged a sea anchor, hoping to stay within sight of other survivors.

From Time Magazine Archive

It swept around the sea anchor of the enemy flank and struck at his most vulnerable spot.

From Time Magazine Archive

The leg in its cast was like a sea anchor dragged behind.

From "A Separate Peace" by John Knowles

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023