Ankering

Ankering is not a standard English term. In contemporary usage, it is generally considered a misspelling or a rare archaic or dialectal form of the more common word anchoring. The modern, widely accepted term for the act of securing something with an anchor is anchoring; the noun form is anchor.

The standard English verb to anchor yields the present participle anchoring. The form ankering does not appear in major dictionaries and is not recognized as the correct modern form. When encountered, ankering may reflect an error in transcription, influence from non-English languages with related roots, or a historical/dialectal variant that is not widely used today. Etymologically, anchoring derives from the same root as anchor, the object used to secure vessels, and relates to the broader family of words describing securing or stabilizing a position.

In current usage, it is advisable to prefer anchoring (for the process) or anchor (as the noun or verb base). In related domains, other terms such as mooring or securing may be appropriate depending on context. If ankering appears in a text, readers should consider it a nonstandard form and interpret it as a reference to the act of anchoring, or, more safely, correct it to anchoring. See also anchor, anchorage, anchoring bias.