Main Entry:

¹an·chor

Pronunciation:

\ˈaŋ-kər\

Function:

noun

Usage:

often attributive

Etymology:

Middle English ancre, from Old English ancor, from Latin anchora, from Greek ankyra; akin to Old English anga hook — more at angle

Date:

before 12th century

1 : a device usually of metal attached to a ship or boat by a cable and cast overboard to hold it in a particular place by means of a fluke that digs into the bottom 2 : a reliable or principal support : mainstay 3 : something that serves to hold an object firmly 4 : an object shaped like a ship's anchor 5 : an anchorman or anchorwoman 6 : the member of a team (as a relay team) that competes last 7 : a large business (as a department store) that attracts customers and other businesses to a shopping center or mall 8 : a fixed object (as a tree or a piton) to which a climber's rope is secured

— an·chor·less \-ləs\ adjective

— at anchor

: being anchored

[anchor illustration]