Anchor

(ăngk'er.) [Gr. ankura.] (Naut.) A heavy, strong, crooked instrument of iron, cast or dropped from a ship into the water, to retain hold in a convenient station in a harbor, road, or river. They are so contrived as to sink into the earth the moment they reach it, and to bear a great strain before they can be loosened or dislodged. Every ship has, or ought to have, three principal anchors, with a cable to each, viz., the sheet, the best bower, and the small bower, so called from their usual situation on the ship's bows. There are besides small anchors for moving a ship from place to place in a harbor or river, where there may not be room or wind for sailing; these are the stream-anchor, the kedge, and the grapnel. The last, however, is chiefly designed for boats. [s. 30]