mooring

• Rhymes: -ɔːɹɪŋ

mooring

1. present participle of moor

mooring (plural moorings)

1. A place to moor a vessel.
2. The act of securing a vessel with a cable or anchor etc.
3. (figuratively) Something to which one adheres, or the means that helps one to maintain a stable position and keep one's identity - moral, intellectual, political, etc.
   • 1890, John George Nicolay and John Hay, Abraham Lincoln: A History

     The party of pro-slavery reaction was for the moment in the ascendant; and as by an irresistible impulse, the Supreme Court of the United States was swept from its hitherto impartial judicial moorings into the dangerous seas of polities.

   • 1898, Coates, Florence Earle, song: "Friendship from its Moorings Strays"

     Friendship from its moorings strays,

     Love binds fast together;

     Friendship is for balmy days,

     Love for stormy weather.

• mooring buoy

• dock
• wharf

• rooming