What does "anvil" mean?
A heavy iron block used in the blacksmithing trade as a surface upon which metal can be struck and shaped.
Anvil
/ˈæn.vəl/ noun, verb
noun, verb ·Moderate ·College level
Meaning at a glance
- Primary sense: A heavy iron block used in the blacksmithing trade as a surface upon which metal can be struck and shaped.
- Grammar: anvil is listed as noun, verb.
- Nearest alternatives: incus, alembic, anvil cloud, auditory apparatus.
- Useful contrasts: cumulus cloud, soft surface, yielding surface.
- Usage evidence: Hasten slowly, and without losing heart, put your work twenty times upon the anvil.
How to use "anvil"
- Start with the primary definition, then check the part of speech before placing the word in a sentence.
- Compare nearby synonyms to make sure "anvil" carries the exact meaning, tone, and strength you need.
- Use the example sentence as a context check. If your sentence uses the word differently, confirm that the grammar still fits.
Meaning check
- Does the word fit the sentence's grammar?
- Does it match the intended tone rather than only the dictionary definition?
- Would a simpler synonym be clearer for the reader?
- Is there enough surrounding context to prevent ambiguity?
Source and review context
This entry combines structured lexical data with WordToolSet review checks. Definitions, examples, synonyms, and usage notes may come from different source tables, so the page is designed to show evidence from more than one angle before you rely on "anvil" in a final draft.
If a word has several senses, prefer the sense that matches your sentence's grammar and surrounding context. A correct definition can still be the wrong choice when the sentence needs a different register, emphasis, or level of specificity.
Before you rely on this definition
Read the first definition as a starting point, then check the example, synonyms, and part of speech before treating "anvil" as the right word for your sentence.
If your draft is formal, technical, persuasive, or sensitive, compare "anvil" with a nearby alternative so the final choice matches both meaning and reader expectation.
Compare nearby meanings
- Use synonyms when you need a softer, stronger, simpler, or more specific word.
- Use antonyms to check the boundary of the meaning and avoid accidental contrast.
- Use the example sentence to confirm the word behaves naturally in context.
- Keep the original wording when a replacement adds complexity without improving precision.
Definition decision workflow
1. Identify the role
Check whether "anvil" is acting as noun, verb in your sentence. A definition is only useful when the grammar matches the way the word is being used.
2. Test the nearest option
Compare it with "incus" and other nearby choices to see whether the sentence needs a softer, stronger, or more familiar word.
3. Confirm with context
Use the example sentence below as an evidence check, then read your own sentence out loud to catch tone or rhythm problems.
Review note: Definition pages are checked for source coverage, sentence evidence, synonym support, and editorial insight before they are treated as approval-ready pages. If the evidence is too thin, the page remains available to users but is kept out of the approval-facing indexed inventory.
Final meaning check
Before publishing a sentence with "anvil", ask whether the word helps the reader understand the idea faster. A precise word should reduce confusion, not simply make the sentence look more polished.
When the definition, synonym evidence, and example context point in the same direction, the word is usually a safer choice. When they conflict, revise the sentence or choose a clearer alternative.
Definitions
Noun
- 1 A heavy iron block used in the blacksmithing trade as a surface upon which metal can be struck and shaped.
"My heart is as an anvil unto sorrow, Which beats upon it like the Cyclops’ hammers […]"
- 2 a heavy block of iron or steel on which hot metals are shaped by hammering wordnet
- 3 The incus bone in the middle ear.
- 4 a small bone in the middle ear between the malleus and the stapes wordnet
- 5 A stone or other hard surface used by a bird for breaking the shells of snails.
Show 2 more definitions
- 6 The non-moving surface of a micrometer against which the item to be measured is placed.
- 7 A horizontal-topped mass of cloud, shaped like a blacksmith's anvil, that forms before a thunderstorm.
Verb
- 1 To fashion on, or as if on, an anvil. figuratively, often, transitive
"I Have anvil’d out this Iron Age, Which I commit, not to your patronage, But skill and Art […]"
Synonyms
All synonymsAntonyms
cumulus cloudsoft surfaceyielding surface
Example
"Hasten slowly, and without losing heart, put your work twenty times upon the anvil."
Common questions
What is a synonym for "anvil"?
Common synonyms include: incus, alembic, anvil cloud, auditory apparatus, auditory canal, auditory meatus.
How do you use "anvil" in a sentence?
Hasten slowly, and without losing heart, put your work twenty times upon the anvil.
How do you pronounce "anvil"?
Pronounced /ˈæn.vəl/.
Etymology
From Middle English anfilt, anvelt, anfelt, from late Old English anfilt, anfilte, anfealt, from earlier onfilti (“anvil”), from Proto-West Germanic *anafalt (compare Middle Dutch anvilte, Low German Anfilts, Anefilt, Old High German anafalz), compound of *ana (“on”) + *falt (“beaten”) (compare German falzen (“to groove, fold, welt”), Swedish dialectal filta (“to beat”)), from Proto-Indo-European *pelh₂-t- (“shaken, beaten”) (compare Middle Irish lethar (“leather”), Latin pellō (“to beat, strike”), Ancient Greek πάλλω (pállō, “to toss, brandish”)), enlargement of Proto-Indo-European *pelh₂- (“to stir, move”). More at felon.