diff --git a/packages/@headlessui-react/CHANGELOG.md b/packages/@headlessui-react/CHANGELOG.md
index 1646eb628f..1f325f65e6 100644
--- a/packages/@headlessui-react/CHANGELOG.md
+++ b/packages/@headlessui-react/CHANGELOG.md
@@ -47,6 +47,7 @@ and this project adheres to [Semantic Versioning](https://semver.org/spec/v2.0.0
 - Allow passing a boolean to the `anchor` prop ([#3121](https://github.com/tailwindlabs/headlessui/pull/3121))
 - Add `portal` prop to `Combobox`, `Listbox`, `Menu` and `Popover` components ([#3124](https://github.com/tailwindlabs/headlessui/pull/3124))
 - Add frozen value to `ComboboxOptions` component ([#3126](https://github.com/tailwindlabs/headlessui/pull/3126))
+- Add string shorthand for the `anchor` prop ([#3133](https://github.com/tailwindlabs/headlessui/pull/3133))
 
 ## [1.7.19] - 2024-04-15
 
diff --git a/packages/@headlessui-react/src/internal/floating.tsx b/packages/@headlessui-react/src/internal/floating.tsx
index e7c8200b4e..802d3019f8 100644
--- a/packages/@headlessui-react/src/internal/floating.tsx
+++ b/packages/@headlessui-react/src/internal/floating.tsx
@@ -38,7 +38,8 @@ type BaseAnchorProps = {
 }
 
 export type AnchorProps =
-  | boolean // Enable with defaults, or disable entirely
+  | false // Disable entirely
+  | (`${Placement}` | `${Placement} ${Align}`) // String value to define the placement
   | Partial<
       BaseAnchorProps & {
         /**
@@ -50,7 +51,8 @@ export type AnchorProps =
     >
 
 export type AnchorPropsWithSelection =
-  | boolean // Enable with defaults, or disable entirely
+  | false // Disable entirely
+  | (`${Placement | 'selection'}` | `${Placement | 'selection'} ${Align}`)
   | Partial<
       BaseAnchorProps & {
         /**
@@ -93,11 +95,11 @@ PlacementContext.displayName = 'PlacementContext'
 
 export function useResolvedAnchor<T extends AnchorProps | AnchorPropsWithSelection>(
   anchor?: T
-): Exclude<T, boolean> | null {
+): Exclude<T, boolean | string> | null {
   return useMemo(() => {
-    if (anchor === true) return {} as Exclude<T, boolean> // Enable with defaults
     if (!anchor) return null // Disable entirely
-    return anchor as Exclude<T, boolean> // User-provided value
+    if (typeof anchor === 'string') return { to: anchor } as Exclude<T, boolean | string> // Simple string based value,
+    return anchor as Exclude<T, boolean | string> // User-provided value
   }, [anchor])
 }
 
@@ -124,8 +126,8 @@ export function useFloatingPanelProps() {
 export function useFloatingPanel(
   placement: (AnchorPropsWithSelection & InternalFloatingPanelProps) | null = null
 ) {
-  if (placement === true) placement = {} // Enable with defaults
   if (placement === false) placement = null // Disable entirely
+  if (typeof placement === 'string') placement = { to: placement } // Simple string based value
 
   let updatePlacementConfig = useContext(PlacementContext)
   let stablePlacement = useMemo(
@@ -389,12 +391,12 @@ function useFixScrollingPixel(element: HTMLElement | null) {
 }
 
 function useResolvedConfig(
-  config: (Exclude<AnchorPropsWithSelection, boolean> & InternalFloatingPanelProps) | null,
+  config: (Exclude<AnchorPropsWithSelection, boolean | string> & InternalFloatingPanelProps) | null,
   element?: HTMLElement | null
 ) {
-  let gap = useResolvePxValue(config?.gap, element)
-  let offset = useResolvePxValue(config?.offset, element)
-  let padding = useResolvePxValue(config?.padding, element)
+  let gap = useResolvePxValue(config?.gap ?? 'var(--anchor-gap, 0)', element)
+  let offset = useResolvePxValue(config?.offset ?? 'var(--anchor-offset, 0)', element)
+  let padding = useResolvePxValue(config?.padding ?? 'var(--anchor-padding, 0)', element)
 
   return { ...config, gap, offset, padding }
 }
diff --git a/playgrounds/react/pages/menu/menu-with-transition.tsx b/playgrounds/react/pages/menu/menu-with-transition.tsx
index ee4b5b97c8..eadd3219ad 100644
--- a/playgrounds/react/pages/menu/menu-with-transition.tsx
+++ b/playgrounds/react/pages/menu/menu-with-transition.tsx
@@ -41,8 +41,8 @@ export default function Home() {
             afterLeave={() => console.log('After leave')}
           >
             <Menu.Items
-              anchor={{ to: 'bottom start', gap: 'var(--gap)' }}
-              className="w-[calc(var(--button-width)*2)] divide-y divide-gray-100 rounded-md border border-gray-200 bg-white shadow-lg outline-none [--gap:theme(spacing.2)]"
+              anchor="bottom start"
+              className="w-[calc(var(--button-width)*2)] divide-y divide-gray-100 rounded-md border border-gray-200 bg-white shadow-lg outline-none [--anchor-gap:theme(spacing.2)]"
             >
               <div className="px-4 py-3">
                 <p className="text-sm leading-5">Signed in as</p>
diff --git a/playgrounds/react/pages/popover/popover.tsx b/playgrounds/react/pages/popover/popover.tsx
index 868751d822..60fc80deba 100644
--- a/playgrounds/react/pages/popover/popover.tsx
+++ b/playgrounds/react/pages/popover/popover.tsx
@@ -60,8 +60,8 @@ export default function Home() {
         <Popover as="div" className="relative">
           <Button>Portal</Button>
           <Popover.Panel
-            anchor={{ to: 'bottom start', gap: 4 }}
-            className="flex w-64 flex-col border-2 border-blue-900 bg-gray-100"
+            anchor="bottom start"
+            className="flex w-64 flex-col border-2 border-blue-900 bg-gray-100 [--anchor-gap:theme(spacing.1)]"
           >
             {items.map((item) => (
               <Button key={item}>Portal - {item}</Button>
@@ -72,9 +72,9 @@ export default function Home() {
         <Popover as="div" className="relative">
           <Button>Focus in Portal</Button>
           <Popover.Panel
-            anchor={{ to: 'bottom start', gap: 4 }}
             focus
-            className="flex w-64 flex-col border-2 border-blue-900 bg-gray-100"
+            anchor="bottom start"
+            className="flex w-64 flex-col border-2 border-blue-900 bg-gray-100 [--anchor-gap:theme(spacing.1)]"
           >
             {items.map((item) => (
               <Button key={item}>Focus in Portal - {item}</Button>