Word.ws English Dictionary

on the anvil

on the anvil prepositional phrase: in a state of discussion, formation, or preparation; not yet matured.

Prepositional phrase

  1. (idiomatic) In a state of discussion, formation, or preparation; not yet matured.
    • November 1 1711, William King, letter to Jonathan Swift
      I have several things on the anvil, and near finished, that perhaps might be useful if published
    • She designed his retirement from the Royal Irish Artillery, and had negociated an immediate berth for him on the staff of the Commander of the Forces, and a prospective one in the household of Lord Townshend; she had another arrangement "on the anvil" for a seat in Parliament, which she would...1863, J[oseph] Sheridan Le Fanu, “In Which Captain Devereux’s Fiddle Plays a Prelude to ‘Over the Hills and Far Away’”, in The House by the Church-yard. […], volume I, London: Tinsley, Brothers, […]...
  2. Used other than figuratively or idiomatically: being worked by a blacksmith.

on the anvil meaning in Tamil and Kannada

on the anvil in Tamil

உருவாகு நிலையில்

on the anvil in Kannada

ಸಿದ್ಧವಾಗುತ್ತಿರುವ, ವಿಚಾರದಲ್ಲಿರುವ, ಪರಿಶೀಲನೆಯಲ್ಲಿರುವ

Synonyms of on the anvil

Questions about on the anvil

What does on the anvil mean?
On the anvil means in a state of discussion, formation, or preparation; not yet matured.
What is on the anvil in Tamil?
On the anvil in Tamil is உருவாகு நிலையில். See On the anvil meaning in Tamil.
What part of speech is on the anvil?
On the anvil is a prepositional phrase.

Words near on the anvil in the dictionary

  1. on that note
  2. on that score
  3. on the
  4. on the air
  5. on the alert
  6. on the anvil
  7. on the back burner
  8. on the back foot
  9. on the back of
  10. on the ball
  11. on the bash

Source and license

Adapted from Wiktionary: on the anvil (page history and authors); on the anvil (Tamil Wiktionary) (page history and authors); on the anvil (Kannada Wiktionary) (page history and authors). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.

Last updated:

Pronunciation audio from Wikimedia Commons, each file under its own free license: En-au-on the anvil.ogg.

Cite this entry: “on the anvil.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/on_the_anvil. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.