Anchor
WordNet
noun
(1) A mechanical device that prevents a vessel from moving
(2) A central cohesive source of support and stability
"Faith is his anchor"
"The keystone of campaign reform was the ban on soft money"
"He is the linchpin of this firm"
(3) A television reporter who coordinates a broadcast to which several correspondents contribute
verb
(4) Secure a vessel with an anchor
"We anchored at Baltimore"
(5) Fix firmly and stably
"Anchor the lamppost in concrete"
WiktionaryText
English
Etymology
, from , from (or cognate with) . The modern spelling is a sixteenth-century modification to better represent the Latin misspelling anchora.
Noun
- A tool used to moor a vessel to the bottom of a sea or river to resist movement.
-
- Formerly a vessel would differentiate amongst the anchors carried as waist anchor, best bower, bower, stream and kedge anchors, depending on purpose and, to a great extent, on mass and size of the anchor. Modern usage is storm anchor for the heaviest anchor with the longest rode, best bower or simply bower for the most commonly used anchor deployed from the bow, and stream or lunch hook for a small, light anchor used for temporary moorage and often deployed from the stern.
- An iron device so shaped as to grip the bottom and hold a vessel at her berth by the chain or rope attached. (FM 55-501).
-
- Generic term to refer to the combined anchoring gear (anchor, rode, and fittings such as bitts, cat, and windlass.)
- A fixed point, especially materials or tools used to affix something at that point.
- An HTML/XHTML mark-up tag to define a position in a file, or a link to a URL.
- An anchorman or anchorwoman.
Verb
- To hold an object, especially a ship or a boat to a fixed point.
- To provide emotional stability for a person in distress.
- To perform as an anchorman.