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a heavy iron block with a smooth face, frequently of steel, on which metals, usually heated until soft, are hammered into desired shapes.
anything having a similar form or use.
the fixed jaw in certain measuring instruments.
Also called anvil cloud, anvil top. Meteorology, (def 2).
a musical percussion instrument having steel bars that are struck with a wooden or metal beater.
Anatomy, (def 1).
Contemporary Examples

If we had these rules, everybody would have known what was going on at JPMorgan Chase long before the anvil dropped on their head.
Barney Frank on JPMorgan’s Contradictions, Mitt Romney’s Mistakes Eleanor Clift May 25, 2012

INSIDER TIP: anvil is not for the faint of wallet: fresh ingredients set imbibers back $8-$12 per cocktail.
Foodie Heaven in Houston Michele Meyer July 9, 2014

The Story of anvil, which was voted Best Documentary at the Independent Spirit Awards.
Goodfellas Turns 20 Sean Macaulay September 20, 2010

Murmelstein was stuck with a thankless and impossible job, caught between the hammer and the anvil, as he tells us.
Confessions of a Death Camp Collaborator: Claude Lanzmann’s ‘The Last of the Unjust’ Jimmy So February 6, 2014

He seems relieved—like an anvil has been lifted from his shoulders—and so are we.
‘Breaking Bad’s’ Series Finale Cements Its Status As One of the All-Time Greats Andrew Romano September 29, 2013

Historical Examples

They beat upon Steve’s body and face as a hammer does upon an anvil.
Steve Yeager William MacLeod Raine

My heart was pounding until in my own ears it sounded like an anvil chorus.
The Bacillus of Beauty Harriet Stark

The piece is merely rough-shaped upon the anvil, and a metallic car running upon a 36 foot track carries it to the adjusting shop.
Scientific American Supplement, No. 488, May 9, 1885 Various

He was a real sleight-of-hand man, and the anvil was his orchestra.
In the Midst of Alarms Robert Barr

It is now cut off by placing the face of the diamond on the outer edge of the anvil.
The Library of Work and Play: Working in Metals Charles Conrad Sleffel

noun
a heavy iron or steel block on which metals are hammered during forging
any part having a similar shape or function, such as the lower part of a telegraph key
the fixed jaw of a measurement device against which the piece to be measured is held
(anatomy) the nontechnical name for incus
n.

Old English anfilt, a West Germanic compound (cf. Middle Dutch anvilt, Old High German anafalz, Dutch aanbeeld, Danish ambolt “anvil”) from *ana- “on” + *filtan “hit” (see felt (n.)). The ear bone so called from 1680s. Anvil Chorus is based on the “Gypsy Song” that opens Act II of Giuseppe Verdi’s opera “Il Trovatore,” first performed in Teatro Apollo, Rome, Jan. 19, 1853.

anvil an·vil (ān’vĭl)
n.
See incus.

the rendering of the Hebrew word , “beaten,” found only in Isa. 41:7.