swallow the anchor

verb

To leave the navy.

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Meanings

verbswallow the anchor (third-person singular simple present swallows the anchor, present participle swallowing the anchor, simple past and past participle swallowed the anchor)

present singular third person swallows the anchor · participle present swallowing the anchor · participle past swallowed the anchor · past swallowed the anchor

  1. slanggovernmentTo leave the navy.

    My grand pa was the carpenter on his ship, but had a few years before swallowed the anchor and stepped on land to repair boats.

    2008, Scott Telek, The Ghost Ship, page 184
Cite this entry
APA

swallow the anchor. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 5, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/swallow%20the%20anchor

MLA

“swallow the anchor.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/swallow%20the%20anchor. Accessed November 5, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “swallow the anchor,” accessed November 5, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/swallow%20the%20anchor.

Source: swallow the anchor on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.