Illustration of anchor
- 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
plural anchors
often attributive
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
a quarterback who has been the anchor of the team's offense
3
: something that serves to hold an object firmly
a bolt-and-nut cable anchor
4
: an object shaped like a ship's anchor
5
: a broadcaster (as on a news program) who introduces reports by other broadcasters and usually reads the news : an anchorman or anchorwoman
a TV news anchor
6
: the member of a team (such as a relay team) that competes last
7
: a large business (such as a department store) that attracts customers and other businesses to a shopping center or mall
8
mountaineering
: a fixed object (such as a tree or a piton) to which a climber's rope is secured
see also:
anchored; anchoring
ˈaŋ-k(ə-)riŋ 
1
: to hold in place in the water by an anchor
anchor a ship
2
: to secure firmly : fix
anchor a post in concrete
3
: to act or serve as an anchor for
… it is she who is anchoring the rebuilding campaign …—
Gray D. Boone
Gray D. Booneanchoring the evening news
Examples of anchor in a Sentence
Noun
The ship dropped anchor in a secluded harbor.
He described his wife as the emotional anchor of his life.
a local bank that has been the financial anchor of the community
Verb
They anchored the ship in the bay.
The ship anchored in the bay.
a star quarterback who has anchored the team's offense for many years
Recent Examples on the Web
Condé Nast, Condé Nast Traveler, 19 May 2026
Ultimately, for as much this is a book about archeology, the emotional anchor is really Lena’s unresolved issues with her mother.
—Literary Hub, 19 May 2026
Dan Greene, New Yorker, 18 May 2026
Consider Virginia, where Dominion serves nearly three million households and is anchoring massive data centers, with dozens of gigawatts of data center demand in one county alone.
—Rohan Goswami, semafor.com, 18 May 2026
See All Example Sentences for anchor
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show current usage.
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Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors.
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Noun
The villas were restored and updated, Conrad Orlando was introduced as the luxury hotel anchor, and Evermore Bay (the lagoon beach that now defines the property) was built from scratch.
—Condé Nast, Condé Nast Traveler, 19 May 2026
Ultimately, for as much this is a book about archeology, the emotional anchor is really Lena’s unresolved issues with her mother.
—Literary Hub, 19 May 2026
Verb
Bob Ley, who anchored ten drafts for ESPN, told me, of that first TV draft.
—Dan Greene, New Yorker, 18 May 2026
Consider Virginia, where Dominion serves nearly three million households and is anchoring massive data centers, with dozens of gigawatts of data center demand in one county alone.
—Rohan Goswami, semafor.com, 18 May 2026
See All Example Sentences for anchor
Cite this Entry
“Anchor.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/anchor. Accessed 21 May. 2026.
Copy CitationKids Definition
anchor
1 of 2 noun
an·chor
ˈaŋ-kər
1
: a device usually of metal that is attached to a boat or ship by a cable and that when thrown overboard digs into the earth and holds the boat or ship in place
2
: something that serves to hold an object firmly or that gives a feeling of stability
the anchor of a bridge
3
anchor
2 of 2 verb
anchored; anchoring
-k(ə-)riŋ
1
: to hold in place by means of an anchor
anchor a ship
2
: to fasten to a firm foundation
anchor the cables of a bridge
3
: to drop anchor : become anchored
the boat anchored in the harbor
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