verb
- to tilt or raise the flukes of an anchor so that it hangs from the cathead
Usage: nautical; transitive
adjective
- tilted or raised at an angle, especially of an anchor suspended from a ship's cathead
Usage: nautical
Examples
- The crew was ordered to cockbill the anchor before departure.
- The anchor hung cockbill from the cathead.
- They cockbilled both anchors in preparation for the voyage.
- With the anchor cockbill, the ship was ready to weigh anchor quickly.