ANCHOR

A iron instrument which is attached to a ship by a cable (rope or chain), and which, being cast overboard, lays hold of the earth by a fluke or hook and thus retains the ship in a particular station.

Any instrument or contrivance serving a purpose like that of a ship's anchor, as an arrangement of timber to hold a dam fast; a contrivance to hold the end of a bridge cable, or other similar part; a contrivance used by founders to hold the core of a mold in place.

Fig.: That which gives stability or security; that on which we place dependence for safety. Which hope we have as an anchor of the soul. Heb. vi. 19.

An emblem of hope.

A metal tie holding adjoining parts of a building together.

Carved work, somewhat resembling an anchor or arrowhead; -- a part of the ornaments of certain moldings. It is seen in the echinus, or egg-and-anchor (called also egg-and-dart, egg-and-tongue) ornament.

One of the anchor-shaped spicules of certain sponges; also, one of the calcareous spinules of certain Holothurians, as in species of Synapta. Anchor ice. See under Ice. -- Anchor ring. (Math.) Same as Annulus, 2 (b). -- Anchor stock (Naut.), the crossbar at the top of the shank at right angles to the arms. -- The anchor comes home, when it drags over the bottom as the ship drifts. -- Foul anchor, the anchor when it hooks, or is entangled with, another anchor, or with a cable or wreck, or when the slack cable entangled. -- The anchor is acockbill, when it is suspended perpendicularly from the cathead, ready to be let go. -- The anchor is apeak, when the cable is drawn in do tight as to bring to ship directly over it. -- The anchor is atrip, or aweigh, when it is lifted out of the ground. -- The anchor is awash, when it is hove up to the surface of the water. -- At anchor, anchored. -- To back an anchor, to increase the holding power by laying down a small anchor ahead of that by which the ship rides, with the cable fastened to the crown of the latter to prevent its coming home. -- To cast anchor, to drop or let go an anchor to keep a ship at rest. -- To cat the anchor, to hoist the anchor to the cathead and pass the ring-stopper. -- To fish the anchor, to hoist the flukes to their resting place (called the bill-boards), and pass the shank painter. -- To weigh anchor, to heave or raise the anchor so as to sail away.

To place at anchor; to secure by an anchor; as, to anchor a ship.

To fix or fasten; to fix in a stable condition; as, to anchor the cables of a suspension bridge. Till that my nails were anchored in thine eyes. Shak.

To cast anchor; to come to anchor; as, our ship (or the captain) anchored in the stream.

To stop; to fix or rest. My invention . . . anchors on Isabel. Shak.

An anchoret. [Obs.] Shak.