weigh

To weigh an anchor is to lift it from the seabed using mechanical force, typically via a windlass or capstan. This breaks the anchor's hold on the bottom and prepares the vessel for departure. The term applies specifically to the raising action itself, distinct from the anchor being merely slack or partly suspended.

The process begins when the ship's winch or windlass takes tension on the anchor cable or chain. As the vessel moves forward or the mechanical power pulls, the shank of the anchor breaks free from mud, clay, sand, or rocky seabed. Modern ships with electric or hydraulic windlasses can weigh anchor in minutes; older vessels with manual capstans required significant crew effort. The weight of the anchor itself, typically 5 to 20 tonnes on a general cargo ship, is secondary to the resistance of suction or penetration in the seabed.

Complications arise when an anchor becomes fouled: the cable or flukes wrap around wreckage, rocks, or cables on the bottom, preventing smooth recovery. Pulling too hard on a fouled anchor risks breaking the cable or damaging the windlass. Experienced crews use slack and surge techniques, allowing the vessel's movement to work the anchor free rather than applying constant strain. A badly stuck anchor may require cutting the cable and abandoning the anchor entirely.

The nautical verb weigh here has Old English roots meaning to lift or carry, related to weighing cargo. It is unrelated to the modern sense of weighing something on a scale to measure its mass. This older meaning survives primarily in maritime vocabulary and is rarely used in everyday English outside shipboard contexts.

The phrase under weigh, meaning a ship in motion between anchorages, is sometimes confused with under way or written as underweigh. Strictly speaking, under weigh refers to the moment when the anchor is being hauled and the vessel begins to move; under way means moving under power or sail. Modern usage often treats the terms as synonymous, though maritime tradition preserves the distinction.