to weigh anchor
3
7.7
- phrasal verb
- /weɪ ˈæŋkər/
- Specialized
:
levantar ancla
- Weigh anchor and move this ship out.
- weigh anchor and sail
- weigh anchor soon
- all hands weigh anchor
Examples
-
Let's weigh anchor.
-
Weigh anchor.
-
- Tell the captain to weigh anchor.
-
This afternoon, at last, we weighed anchor.
Fiction book (2002) -
The Boudeuse weighed anchor in the early morning of April 16.
Fiction book (1991) -
We'll weigh anchor.
-
Captain, weigh anchor.
-
Prepare to weigh anchor!
-
The crew was excited to weigh anchor as the sun began to rise over the horizon.
-
Before we head out to sea, we need to weigh anchor and set the course.
Synonyms
1
6.7
Raise the anchor from the water so the ship can sail
Antonyms
How Ready
Surface Forms
Morphology
weigh + anchor
The phrase uses a specialized nautical sense of 'weigh' = 'to hoist/raise', which is different from the prototypical B1 meaning of 'weigh' ('to measure weight'). Because the relation to the constituents is motivated but relies on a less familiar, domain-specific sense, learners who know both words may not reliably infer the MWE without exposure.
Etymology
Weigh anchor comes from old sailors lifting the heavy anchor when a ship was ready to leave. In old English weigh meant 'lift', so weigh anchor came to mean 'to raise the anchor' and get ready to sail.