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. an anchorman (see anchorman sense 2) 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. a fixed object (such as a tree or a piton) to which a climber's rope is secured
9. being anchored
a ship at anchor
10. to hold in place in the water by an anchor
anchor a ship
11. to secure firmly fix
anchor a post in concrete
12. to act or serve as an anchor for
… it is she who is anchoring the rebuilding campaign …
— Gray D. Boone anchoring the evening news
13. to cast anchor
14. to become fixed
15. a heavy device that is attached to a boat or ship by a rope or chain and that is thrown into the water to hold the boat or ship in place
16. a person or thing that provides strength and support
17. a large store that attracts customers and other businesses to an area (such as a shopping mall)
18. to keep a ship or boat from moving by using an anchor
19. to connect (something) to a solid base to hold (something) firmly in place
20. to be the strongest and most important part of (something)
21. a heavy device attached to a ship by a cable or chain and used to hold the ship in place when thrown overboard
22. someone or something that provides strength and support
He is the family's anchor.
23. to hold or become held in place with an anchor
The riverboat was anchored at a sandy beach below tall bluffs.
— Janet Shaw, Meet Kirsten
24. to fasten tightly
The cables are anchored to the bridge.
25. to relate psychologically to a point or frame of reference (as to a person, a situation, an object, or a conceptual scheme)