# anchoring

Pronunciation: say "ANG-ker-ing" /ˈæŋ.kəɹ.ɪŋ/

## Noun

1. The act or means of fixing something firmly in position so that it does not move.
   - Simple: The act of fixing something firmly so that it stays in place.
   - _The anchoring of the scaffolding to the wall prevented any movement during construction._
   - _Without proper anchoring, the heavy shelves could topple over._
3. The tendency to keep later estimates close to an initial figure or guess, giving that first value too much weight even when a much larger change would be more accurate.
   - Simple: The habit of staying too close to the first number or idea you hear when guessing or deciding.
   - _Anchoring led the negotiators to settle near the seller's opening price rather than the item's true value._
   - _Researchers found that anchoring skews people's estimates whenever a starting number is mentioned first._

## Verb

2. Present participle and gerund of anchor. — present participle and gerund of anchor
   - Simple: Present participle of anchor. Use this form for the ongoing action of fixing something in place.
   - _The sailors are anchoring the boat in the cove before the storm hits._
   - _Anchoring the cables securely to the seabed took the whole afternoon._

## Origin

Formed from "anchor" combined with the suffix "-ing".

Source: DictionaryAI, https://dictionaryai.com/define/anchoring (written from Wiktionary data, CC BY-SA 4.0: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/).