sheet anchor
Nautical. a large anchor used only in cases of emergency.
a final reliance or resource, as when in danger.
Origin of sheet anchor
1Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024
How to use sheet anchor in a sentence
We have trusted to it as to the sheet-anchor of our safety, in the stormy times of conflict with a foreign or domestic foe.
Key-Notes of American Liberty | VariousThe Germans regarded him and his humane doctrine as their sheet-anchor of safety.
The Outline of History: Being a Plain History of Life and Mankind | Herbert George WellsBut a considerable number of the latter had served for years on board of men-of-war, and a few were sheet-anchor men.
Within The Enemy's Lines | Oliver OpticBut in "all the changes and chances of this mortal life" this household had a sure sheet anchor on which to depend.
Robert Louis Stevenson | Margaret Moyes BlackTo this famous theory, which became the sheet-anchor of the empirical school, Stewart is not altogether opposed.
The English Utilitarians, Volume I. | Leslie Stephen
British Dictionary definitions for sheet anchor
nautical a large strong anchor for use in emergency
a person or thing to be relied upon in an emergency
Origin of sheet anchor
1Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
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