anchor Definition

anchor
noun

1. A heavy piece of metal attached by a cable to a ship and put overboard so that the barbs catch in the seabed or riverbed to restrict the ship's movement.

Thesaurus: grapnel, kedge, killick, mud-hook (slang.
2. Anything that acts as a weight to secure something else.
3. Anything that gives security or stability.

Thesaurus: support, mainstay, pillar of strength.
4. athletics.
The last person to run in a relay race.
5. TV.radio.
The person in the studio who provides the links with outside broadcast reporters, between commercial breaks, etc.

verb anchored, anchoring

1. To fasten (a ship) using an anchor.

Thesaurus: make fast, affix, moor, fasten, fix, attach.
2. To fasten anything securely.
intr
3. To drop an anchor and become moored by it; to be moored by an anchor.
4. TV.radio.
To sit in a studio and provide the links with outside broadcast reporters, between commercial breaks, etc.

Idiom: at anchor

Said of a ship: secured by an anchor.

Idiom: cast anchor

To put an anchor overboard in order to restrict a ship's movement.

Idiom: ride at anchor

Said of a ship: to have a restricted amount of movement because its anchor is in use.

Idiom: weigh anchor

To raise a ship's anchor in order to allow it to sail.

Etymology: Anglo-Saxon ancor.