at anchor
Held in place
At anchor describes a vessel secured in place by its anchor rather than moving or moored to a dock.
A ship at anchor floats freely but is held by the anchor's grip on the bottom: The fleet lay at anchor in the harbor.
The phrase can extend figuratively to anything temporarily stationed but not permanently fixed.
- mooredSecured by line
- harborSafe anchorage for ships
- safe harborProtected place for vessels
- berthedBrought to dock
- dockedFastened at harbor
bow · chain · rode · seabed · buoy · still · waiting · calm · sheltered · cove · bay · swinging · holding · windlass · tide · stern · rope · vessel
- nautical termsahoy, afloat, aye aye, aye-aye, becalmed
- Status phrasesat home, in town, on site, in transit, on location
- military statusactive duty, enlisted, retired, deployed, veteran
vessel motion/activity state
at anchorunderway
Currently in progress
under sail · in motion · steaming · sailing · making way
vessel security/attachment
at anchoradrift
Floating without control
drifting · unmoored · loose · untethered · free-floating