n.
Pronunciation: ' a ŋ -k ə r
Function: noun
Usage: often attrib
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 \ -l ə s \ adjective
– at anchor : being anchored
anchor 1: A yachtsman's: 1 ring, 2 stock, 3 shank, 4 bill, 5 fluke, 6 arm, 7 throat, 8 crown; B fluke; C grapnel; D plow; E mushroom