drop anchor

verb

By · According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA) ·

"drop-anchor" is a 10-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“drop anchor” is outside the top-ranked English vocabulary, used as a verb - the kind of word writers most often double-check.

Unranked
below top-frequency English
11
letters

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - To release the anchor of a ship or boat, allowing it to fall to the bed of a body of water and thereby securing the vessel in place.

Key facts for drop anchor
PropertyValue
Headworddrop anchor
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechVerb
Letters11
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Where “drop anchor” sits in English frequency

drop anchor falls outside the top-100,000 ranked English words, the long-tail zone of technical, archaic, or low-frequency vocabulary, exactly where readers second-guess spellings most.

Beyond rank #100,000. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

The English entry for drop anchor is 11 letters long, classified as a verb. It sits outside the most-frequent rank tiers, which is often why uncommon words generate more spelling variants per reader. Wiktionary records 3 distinct senses for this headword, so context determines which meaning a reader should apply.

No misspelling variants are generated for drop anchor in our index, a straightforward case of a spelling with little room for common typos. This headword has no recorded confusable partner, a sign it's visually distinctive enough not to be mixed up with another word.

Wiktionary doesn't record an etymology for this headword, so its spelling is best read as a straightforward mapping from sound to letter. The correct English form is drop anchor, spelled D-R-O-P- -A-N-C-H-O-R.

Definition

  1. 1
    To release the anchor of a ship or boat, allowing it to fall to the bed of a body of water and thereby securing the vessel in place.
  2. 2
    To stop travelling and settle down.
  3. 3
    To defecate.

This word in other languages

jeter l'ancre(Français)

Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "drop anchor"?
"drop anchor" is spelled D-R-O-P- -A-N-C-H-O-R.
What does "drop anchor" mean?
As a verb, "drop anchor" means: To release the anchor of a ship or boat, allowing it to fall to the bed of a body of water and thereby securing the vessel in place.
What language does "drop anchor" come from?
"drop anchor" is a English word. PlainSpell's reference spans five languages -- English, Spanish, Portuguese, French, and German -- with definitions, pronunciations, and spelling data for each.
Is PlainSpell free to use?
Yes, PlainSpell is a completely free word reference. You can look up definitions, pronunciations, confusable pairs, homophones, and spelling corrections across 5 languages without any sign-up or subscription.

Using “drop anchor”

The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.

  • The one correct English spelling is D-R-O-P- -A-N-C-H-O-R - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
  • Browse more English words and confusable pairs in the same reference. English words
Data Source

Wiktionary (via kaikki.org), licensed under CC BY-SA & GFDL. Word ordering uses an open word-frequency list; misspelling variants are generated by edit-distance from the correct headword.

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list FrequencyWords open word-frequency list