anchor
/ˈaŋkə
/
noun
1A heavy object attached to a cable or chain and used to moor a ship to the sea bottom, typically having a metal shank with a pair of curved, barbed flukes at one end: the boat, no longer held fast by its anchor, swung wildly [as modifier]: an anchor chain...
- They rigged two mooring legs on the ship's fantail, consisting of anchors, chain and heavy cable attached to two buoys.
- In addition to knitting, Johnson and a group of three women and one brave man meet several times a week in an empty space near the forecastle, the area of the ship where the anchor chains are stowed.
- The Rainbow Warrior had been blockading the military port until police boarded the ship on Saturday night and cut her anchor chain forcing the ship into dock.
1.1 (anchors) British informal The brakes of a car: this idiot in front slammed on his anchors at a crossing...
- I had to stand on the anchors on a few occasions to avoid wiping a sizable chunk off the £99,300 car's front end.
- It's not that the Jag's braking is poor because by any normal standards the XKR has an impressive set of anchors - it's just that the Aston's is exceptionally good.
- Hard on the anchors into the esses - a quick and tight left/right/right - make sure you brake in a straight line or the back wheels will be overtaking the bonnet.
2A person or thing which provides stability or confidence in an otherwise uncertain situation: the European Community is the economic anchor of the New Europe...
- ‘I hope to be an anchor to bring the stability to look at the economic and political coverage of the paper,’ he said.
- In the midst of all these changes and uncertainties, the key role of leadership is to provide an anchor that can offer some degree of stability.
- I think he's not your typical anchor, in that he shows up in situations that other anchors don't.
Synonyms
mainstay, cornerstone, bulwark, chief support, main source of stability/security, foundation, prop, linchpin
3 (also anchor tenant or anchor store) A large and prestigious department store prominently sited in a new shopping centre.Competition for anchor stores in shopping centres remains robust with Dunnes, Superquinn, Marks and Spencers and Tesco all hoping to expand their presence....
- Although permission was granted last year for that development, work has yet to begin on the 14-acres site even though anchor tenant Woodies has already signed up.
- An unnamed supermarket will be the anchor tenant of the shopping complex, which is set to transform the commercial life of the town as its population expands.
4chiefly North American An anchorman or anchorwoman: he signed off after nineteen years as CBS news anchor...
- Dowsett is a television news reporter / anchor for KTVL, the CBS station in Medford, Oregon.
- Behind a glass wall at one end is the smallest of Al Jazeera's three broadcast studios, where anchors read five-minute newscasts every hour.
- Even network news anchors or reporters, although they may introduce commercial messages, rarely actually deliver them.
Synonyms
presenter, announcer, anchorman, anchorwoman, newsreader, newscaster, broadcaster, reporter
verb [with object]
1Moor (a ship) to the sea bottom with an anchor: the ship was anchored in the lee of the island [no object, with adverbial of place]: we anchored in the harbour...
- At some point construction on the inside of the marina will begin and anchored yachts will be chased back outside.
- Personnel from HMAS Anzac set off to do a tour of Egypt while the ship is anchored near the entrance to the Suez Canal.
- A ship is anchored and ready to set sail for England on my command.
1.1Secure firmly in position: the tail is used as a hook with which the fish anchors itself to coral...
- Thus, for a quantitative characterization it seems reasonable to assume that vesicles are anchored at certain positions and can only move in a restricted space.
- Danny Dichio chipped in with two West Brom goals to keep County firmly anchored at the foot of the table.
- Gilkey was anchored securely to his position in the gully with two ice axes while the others moved to the other side of a rocky rib to set up a tent.
Synonyms
secure, fasten, attach, make fast, connect, bind, affix, fix
1.2Provide with a firm basis or foundation: it is important that policy be anchored to some acceptable theoretical basis...
- However these ratings were achieved with families performing a uniform task that served to anchor the interaction and provide cues for rater judgment.
- For while Blair made, and makes, a cogent, cerebral case for his New Labourism, Gordon Brown had the previous day approached the same task - anchoring current policy in old time ideals - via a different route.
- Gold anchored national economies, providing the basis for their currencies.
2chiefly North American Present and coordinate (a television or radio programme): she anchored a television documentary series in the early 1980s...
- She has anchored programmes on television, and has her brand ‘Karens’ producing fruit preserves, marmalades.
- The programme was anchored by popular television artiste, Udaya Bhanu.
- He also has the credit of being the youngest artiste to anchor television programmes.
Phrases
at anchor
drop anchor
weigh (or raise) anchor
Origin
Old English ancor, ancra, via Latin from Greek ankura; reinforced in Middle English by Old French ancre. The current form is from anchora, an erroneous Latin spelling. The verb (from Old French ancrer) dates from Middle English.
Rhymes
- front-end load
- front-end loader
- front-fanged
- frontier
- frontierless
- frontier post
- frontiersman
- frontierswoman
- frontispiece
- frontisterion
- frontless
- frontlet
- front line
- front-line states
- front-load
- front loader
- frontman
- front matter
- front money
- frontmost
- front nine
- front office
- front of house
- fronton
- front page