HOW TO PRONOUNCE
anvil
/ˈæn.vəl/
Press play to hear how to pronounce anvil.
American Pronunciation Guide · 0:47
Watch on YouTube ↗
Watch on YouTube ↗
What does anvil mean?
noun
- A heavy iron block used in the blacksmithing trade as a surface upon which metal can be struck and shaped.
- The incus bone in the middle ear.
- A stone or other hard surface used by a bird for breaking the shells of snails.
More meanings (3)
noun
- The non-moving surface of a micrometer against which the item to be measured is placed.
- A horizontal-topped mass of cloud, shaped like a blacksmith's anvil, that forms before a thunderstorm.
verb
- (figuratively) To fashion on, or as if on, an anvil.
Definitions regrouped for readability · CC BY-SA 4.0
IPA pronunciation
/ˈæn.vəl/
Wiktionary contributors · CC BY-SA 4.0 ↗Pronunciation varies by speaker and region. About these dictionary pronunciations.
In the pages of books
See this word in context.
And yet when you come to think, there is no real difference between a conscience and an anvil--I mean for comfort.
Though thousands tried, I never saw, or heard, of anyone else who could juggle his anvil or pick up the weight.
More book examples (3)
Upon a close examination with the finger, I found minute fragments of lead, resembling very small shot flattened upon an anvil.
And at night a Fua came out of the river and flung great stones, striving to drive him away from the anvil.
Then I had a great mass of white-hot iron swung out of the furnace by a crane and placed upon the anvil block.