# anchor

> English word · Noun · IPA /ˈæŋ.kə/ · frequency rank #6,862

## Definitions
1. A tool used to moor a vessel to the bottom of a sea or river to resist movement.
2. An iron device so shaped as to grip the bottom and hold a vessel at her berth by the chain or rope attached.
3. The combined anchoring gear (anchor, rode, bill/peak and fittings such as bitts, cat, and windlass.)
4. Representation of the nautical tool, used as a heraldic charge.
5. Any instrument serving a purpose like that of a ship's anchor, such as an arrangement of timber to hold a dam fast; a device to hold the end of a bridge cable etc.; or a device used in metalworking to hold the core of a mould in place.
6. A marked point in a document that can be the target of a hyperlink.
7. A line of code in a program which acts as a reference point for further code to be added immediately before or after, usually via copy and paste.
8. An anchorman or anchorwoman.
9. The final runner in a relay race.
10. A point that is touched by the draw hand or string when the bow is fully drawn and ready to shoot.
11. A superstore or other facility that serves as a focus to bring customers into an area.
12. That which gives stability or security.
13. A metal tie holding adjoining parts of a building together.
14. A screw anchor.
15. Carved work, somewhat resembling an anchor or arrowhead; part of the ornaments of certain mouldings. It is seen in the echinus, or egg-and-anchor (called also egg-and-dart, egg-and-tongue) ornament.
16. One of the anchor-shaped spicules of certain sponges.
17. One of the calcareous spinules of certain holothurians, as in species of Synapta.
18. The thirty-fifth Lenormand card.
19. The brake of a vehicle.
20. A defensive player, especially one who counters the opposition's best offensive player.
21. A batter who remains in for a long time.
22. A device for attaching a climber at the top of a climb, such as a chain or ring or a natural feature.

## 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.

## Easily confused with
- **author** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/anchor-vs-author)
- **archer** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/anchor-vs-archer)
- **anyhow** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/anchor-vs-anyhow)
- **Angkor** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/anchor-vs-angkor)
- **anchovy** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/anchor-vs-anchovy)
- **anchored** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/anchor-vs-anchored)
- **actor** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/actor-vs-anchor)
- **abhor** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/abhor-vs-anchor)

## Common misspellings (9)
`acnhor`, `ancchor`, `anchhor`, `anchorr`, `anchro`, `ancohr`, `anhcor`, `annchor`, `nachor`

## Source
Compiled from Wiktionary via kaikki.org (CC BY-SA). Data vintage: 2026-05-06.
Canonical page: https://plainspell.com/en/word/anchor