anchor

B2 Topic:Maritime & Sailing

US /ˈæŋ.kɚ/ UK /ˈæŋ.kə/ See IPA manual

Freq #6592

Meanings

1

noun
A heavy metal object dropped from a boat to stop it from moving.

The sailors dropped the anchor as soon as they reached the bay.
2

verb
To stop a boat from moving by using an anchor.

We anchored the boat just off the small island.
3

verb
To fix something firmly so that it cannot move.

They anchored the lamppost in concrete.
4

noun
A person who presents a news programme on television or radio.

The news anchor introduced the report from the war zone.
5

noun
A person or thing that gives stability and support.

For many people, family is an anchor in difficult times.

Verb forms

Verb forms are not available for this word yet.

Thesaurus

Synonyms

2 verb · to stop a boat from moving... drop anchor

3 verb · to fix something firmly so... ground fix

4 noun · a person who presents a... anchorman

5 noun · a person or thing that... mainstay backbone

More hold

Word family

Forms anchoringanchors

Derived forms anchor-hoyanchorableanchorageanchoreranchoressanchorhold anchorlessanchorlikeanchorman anchorpersonanchorsmithcoanchor

Appears in

Phrases (1)

See all

weigh anchor
to raise a ship's anchor from the bottom so that the ship can leave

Verb + noun

Etymology

Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *h₂enk-der.? Ancient Greek ᾰ̓́γκῡρᾰ (ắnkūră)bor.? Latin ancorabor. Proto-Germanic *ankurô Proto-West Germanic *ankurō Old English ancor Middle English anker English anchor From Middle English anker, from Old English ancor, ancra, from Latin ancora, from (or cognate with) Ancient Greek ἄγκυρα (ánkura). The modern form is a sixteenth-century modification after the Medieval Latin spelling anchora. Doublet of ancora, anker, angora, and Ankara.

anker Middle English ancor Old English ancora Latin ἄγκυρα Ancient Greek

View etymology graph ->

Topics

Maritime & Sailing Materials & Substances

External links

# anchor

**Type:** Word
**Level:** B2
**Part of speech:** noun, verb
**IPA (US):** /ˈæŋ.kɚ/
**IPA (UK):** /ˈæŋ.kə/
**Frequency rank:** 6592

## Meanings
1. A heavy metal object dropped from a boat to stop it from moving.
2. To stop a boat from moving by using an anchor.
3. To fix something firmly so that it cannot move.
4. A person who presents a news programme on television or radio.
5. A person or thing that gives stability and support.

## Examples
- The sailors dropped the anchor as soon as they reached the bay.
- We anchored the boat just off the small island.
- They anchored the lamppost in concrete.
- The news anchor introduced the report from the war zone.
- For many people, family is an anchor in difficult times.

## Synonyms
- hold

## Derived Forms
- anchor-hoy
- anchorable
- anchorage
- anchorer
- anchoress
- anchorhold
- anchorless
- anchorlike
- anchorman
- anchorperson
- anchorsmith
- coanchor

## Roots and Affixes
- Root: anker
- Root: ancor
- Root: ancora
- Root: ἄγκυρα

## Etymology
Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *h₂enk-der.? Ancient Greek ᾰ̓́γκῡρᾰ (ắnkūră)bor.? Latin ancorabor. Proto-Germanic *ankurô Proto-West Germanic *ankurō Old English ancor Middle English anker English anchor From Middle English anker, from Old English ancor, ancra, from Latin ancora, from (or cognate with) Ancient Greek ἄγκυρα (ánkura). The modern form is a sixteenth-century modification after the Medieval Latin spelling anchora. Doublet of ancora, anker, angora, and Ankara.

## AI Etymology
Anchor comes from Middle English anker, from Old English ancor, ancra, from Latin ancora, from (or cognate with) Ancient Greek ἄγκυρα (ánkura). The modern form is a sixteenth-century modification after the Medieval Latin spelling anchora. Doublet of ancora, anker, angora, and Ankara.

## Topics
- Maritime & Sailing
- Materials & Substances

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