Hook-shaped and heavy, a ship's anchor is built to hold a whole vessel steady against drift and current. It's used for nautical themes and sailor tattoos, and figuratively for staying grounded — the thing, or person, that keeps someone steady when everything else around them feels like it's slipping loose.
What ⚓ means
A thick grey structure with a loop on top, followed by a short horizontal bar and a long vertical line that joins with an upward curve ending in arrows on both sides.
The ⚓ Anchor emoji represents the device that helps keep a boat/ship in place. From a larger perspective, this emoji essentially signifies anything or anyone that keeps something or someone grounded.
How and when to use it
- If you're sharing a birthday post or an appreciation post for someone who's always kept you grounded and emotionally safe, you can use ⚓ in the caption. For instance, "For always being there and always keeping my head out of the clouds, thank you ⚓".
- Similarly, you could use ⚓ while saving the contact number of that one person who's your anchor.
- An anchor could also signify a hobby, passion, and even one's career. So, you can use ⚓ while posting about any of these aspects or even while texting someone about it. Like, "I just cannot go a single day without music. It keeps me from losing my mind ⚓".
- While breaking the ice with a romantic interest or anyone for that matter, you can use ⚓ while asking them "What's that one thing that keeps you one piece?⚓" or "What keeps you mentally stable? ⚓".
Other Names
- ⚓ Moor
- ⚓ Berth
- ⚓ Harbor
- ⚓ Ship Anchor
- ⚓ Drop Anchor
- ⚓ Tie Up
- ⚓ Anchor Oneself
- ⚓ Heavy Weight Dropped From a Ship
- ⚓ Fishermen
- ⚓ Admiralty Pattern Anchor
The lowdown
- Category
- Travel & Places › transport-water
- Codepoints
U+2693- Emoji version
- Emoji 0.6
- Shortcodes
:anchor:- Keywords
- anchor, ship, tool
How it looks across platforms
Seeing a blank box instead of the emoji somewhere? Here's why that happens. Curious why the designs above don't match to begin with? Here's why that happens too.
⚡ Quick round
Which joined the keyboard first — ⚓ Anchor or 🍋 Lemon?
Runs with a crowd
⚓ keeps company in travel emojis — tap-to-copy sets for when one emoji isn't enough.