anvil

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noun an·vil \ ˈan-vəl \

Definition of anvil

1 :a heavy usually steel-faced iron block on which metal is shaped (as by hand hammering)

2 :incus

3 :the anvil–shaped top of a cumulonimbus

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Recent Examples of anvil from the Web

Democrats should be willing to exploit that vulnerability, if only to hand their opponents an anvil and encourage them to walk off the nearest cliff.

— ed kilgore, Daily Intelligencer, "Now What? Democrats Must Decide How to Exploit the Collapse of Trumpcare.," 19 July 2017
Mammatus clouds can be found on the underside of the anvils of severe thunderstorms (especially supercell thunderstorms), resembling sagging pouches that are made up primarily of ice crystals.

— kathryn prociv, Washington Post, "This photo of post-storm mammatus clouds is absolutely stunning," 7 July 2017
Instead, I’d somehow managed to break it in a way that left my little piggy sticking out the side of my foot like a backwards anvil.

— sarah wesley lemire, courant.com, "Sarah Wesley Lemire's Last Word: The Toe Incident," 22 June 2017
The May 18 eruption was still in action during the afternoon hours, but its plume had a very different appearance -- most notably a long, dark anvil top that veered off to the east for hundreds of miles.

— lizzy acker, OregonLive.com, "Stories behind mystery pictures found at Portland Goodwill," 16 June 2017
An election ought to be the time when different approaches to the same questions are hammered out on the anvil of debate and campaigning.

— alastair campbell, CNN, "The world has lost interest in British politics," 1 June 2017
Tex Avery Your body has a remarkable elasticity, which allows it to immediately spring up like an accordion after being flattened by a falling anvil.

— max lakin, The New Yorker, "Body Types Represented by New Dove Bottles," 23 May 2017
This year, however, anxiety lurks in the anvil chorus.

— paul de barros, The Seattle Times, "2018 Northwest Folklife Festival in danger of being canceled," 23 May 2017
The formation developed at sunset with a huge, towering anvil cloud that stretched tens of miles from the center of the storm.

— angela fritz, Washington Post, "This otherworldly thunderstorm blew up over Roswell last night," 23 May 2017

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'anvil.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Illustration of anvil

Origin and Etymology of anvil

Middle English anfilt, from Old English; akin to Old High German anafalz anvil; akin to Latin pellere to beat — more at felt

NEW! Time Traveler

First Known Use: before 12th century

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Other Hardware Terms

adze, auger, awl, chock, ferrule, punch, tang

ANVIL Defined for English Language Learners

anvil

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noun

Definition of anvil for English Language Learners

: a heavy iron block on which heated metal is shaped by hitting it with a hammer

ANVIL Defined for Kids

anvil

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noun an·vil \ ˈan-vəl \

Definition of anvil for Students

:an iron block on which pieces of metal are hammered into shape

Medical Dictionary

anvil

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noun an·vil \ ˈan-vəl \

medical Definition of anvil

:incus

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Spanish Central: Translation of anvil Nglish: Translation of anvil for Spanish speakers Britannica English: Translation of anvil for Arabic speakers Britannica.com: Encyclopedia article about anvil

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anvil

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