aweigh
aweigh Lexical Profile
aweigh Game Scores & Validity
• adjective
Raised just clear of the sea floor or river bottom and hanging perpendicularly (used of a ship's anchor).
"Once the first mate confirmed that the anchor was aweigh, the captain ordered the vessel to steam out of the harbor."
• adverb
In a position hanging just clear of the bottom after being hoisted (of a ship's anchor).
"The crew heaved at the capstan until the heavy iron anchor hung aweigh beneath the bow."
Word Nuance & Usage
Easily confused with its homophone 'away'; 'aweigh' is a strictly nautical term used predicatively or postpositively (as in 'anchors aweigh') to indicate that an anchor has just been lifted clear of the seabed, whereas 'away' indicates movement or distance from a place.
• Rhymes for aweigh
Word Origin & Etymology
First recorded in the early 17th century, formed from the prefix 'a-' (meaning 'in' or 'on') and the noun 'weigh' (from the nautical verb 'weigh', meaning to heave up an anchor).