supertanker

noun

su·​per·​tank·​er ˈsü-pər-ˌtaŋ-kər 

plural supertankers

: an exceptionally large and fast cargo ship fitted with tanks for carrying liquid (such as oil) in bulk

… vessels of more than 35,000 tons—large but no giants in a world of supertankers …

—William H. MacLeish

… interrupts the … discussion with a warning that supertankers carrying liquefied gas are extremely dangerous.

—John Hersey

Examples of supertanker in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

The strait connects the Persian Gulf to the Gulf of Oman, providing the only route to the open ocean for supertankers carrying oil from Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Qatar, the UAE, Iran, and others. —Frank Landymore, Futurism, 12 Mar. 2026

Last week, oil supertanker costs in the Middle East climbed to their highest level on record, with major marine war risk providers scrapping cover for vessels operating in the Persian Gulf. —Lim Hui Jie, CNBC, 11 Mar. 2026

Aramco has been redirecting oil cargoes to Red Sea facilities on Saudi Arabia’s west coast to avoid the Strait of Hormuz, with eight supertankers loading from the area this month. —Christine Burke, Bloomberg, 8 Mar. 2026

Saudi Arabia, the world’s biggest oil exporter, is also hiring more supertankers to handle higher volumes. —Matthew Martin, semafor.com, 27 Feb. 2026

Word History

First Known Use

1921, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for supertanker

• anchor
• anker
• banker
• canker
• hanker
• rancor
• shanker
• tanker

Kids Definition

supertanker

noun

su·​per·​tank·​er

ˈsü-pər-ˌtaŋ-kər

: a very large cargo ship fitted with tanks for carrying large amounts of liquid