Phrase guide

sheet anchor

noun · 4 senses · updated from the 2026-07-25 local source snapshot

Definitions and examples are grouped by meaning. Pronunciation, history, word forms, translations, descendants, synonyms, antonyms, derived terms, and related words appear whenever the source provides them.

Sound

Pronunciation

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1

noun

Meaning 1

A large, spare anchor used in an emergency.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Topics: nautical, transport

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

2

noun

Meaning 2

A source of help in times of danger; last resort.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: broadly

Examples

  • 1691, Ezekiel Hopkins, An Exposition of the Ten Commandments, with Other Sermons, London: Nathanael Ranew, “The Ninth Commandment,” p. 62, And doubtless when other Arguments have been baffled by a Temptation, this hath been a Sheet Anchor to the Soul, and hath often held it in the greatest Storms, when the Wind and Waves have beat most furiously against it.
  • 1971, Nelson Mandela, letter to the wife of fellow-prisoner Mac Maharaj dated 1 February, 1971, in Sahm Venter (ed.), The Prison Letters of Nelson Mandela, New York: Liveright, 2018, It is the prettiest portrait of her that I’ve seen. Its message is clear & unambiguous: Darling I’m the centre of the universe; sheet anchor of all your dreams!

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

3

noun

Meaning 3

A batsman who provides dependable defence while a series of other batsmen score rapidly.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Topics: ball-games, cricket, games, hobbies, lifestyle, sports

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

4

noun

Meaning 4

spare anchor for use in emergency

Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: waist anchor

Antonyms: none provided

Broader terms: anchor, ground tackle

History

Etymology

From shoot and anchor.

Across languages

Translations

12 source translations are retained for this English entry.

  • Bulgarian: резервна котва (rezervna kotva) — nautical: a large, spare anchor
  • Finnish: hätäankkuri — nautical: a large, spare anchor
  • French: ancre de miséricorde — nautical: a large, spare anchor
  • French: ancre maîtresse — nautical: a large, spare anchor
  • German: Notanker — nautical: a large, spare anchor
  • German: Rettungsanker — nautical: a large, spare anchor
  • Hebrew: עֹגֶן מִבְטָח (ogen mivtakh) — nautical: a large, spare anchor
  • Icelandic: aðalakkeri — nautical: a large, spare anchor
  • Irish: mórancaire — nautical: a large, spare anchor
  • Bulgarian: последна надежда (posledna nadežda) — a source of help in times of danger
  • Hebrew: עֹגֶן הַצָּלָה (ogen hatsala) — a source of help in times of danger
  • Russian: спаси́тельный я́корь (spasítelʹnyj jákorʹ) — a source of help in times of danger