unmoor

English

Etymology

From un- +‎ moor.

Verb

unmoor (third-person singular simple present unmoors, present participle unmooring, simple past and past participle unmoored)

1. (transitive) To unfix or unsecure (a moored boat).
   • 2007 August 2, Ellen Barry, “U.S. Halts Heating Oil Deliveries by Two Companies Accused of Swindling”, in New York Times‎^[1]:

     “It would’ve taken him a half-hour to unmoor the boat.”

2. (transitive, figurative) To set free or loose.
   • 2012, Caspar Henderson, The Book of Barely Imagined Beings, page 93:

     When oblivion finally unmoors us.

3. (intransitive) To weigh anchor.

Coordinate terms

• unberth
• undock