an·chor
(ănǵkər)
[Middle English anker, ancher, from Old English ancor, from Latin ancora, anchora, from Greek ankura.]
noun
- Nautical A heavy object attached to a vessel by a cable or rope and cast overboard to keep the vessel in place either by its weight or by its flukes, which grip the bottom.
- A rigid point of support, as for securing a rope.
- A source of security or stability.
- Sports
- An athlete, usually the strongest member of a team, who performs the last stage of a relay race or other competition.
- The person at the end of a tug-of-war team.
- An anchorperson.
verb: -chored, -chor·ing, -chors.
transitive verb
- To hold fast by or as if by an anchor. See synonyms at fasten
- Sports To serve as an anchor for (a team or competition).
- To narrate or coordinate (a newscast).
- To provide or form an anchor store for: Two major stores anchor each end of the shopping mall.
intransitive verb
- Nautical To drop anchor or lie at anchor.
