1
: a usually large receptacle for holding, transporting, or storing liquids (such as water or fuel)
2
: an enclosed heavily armed and armored combat vehicle that moves on tracks
3
: tank top
5
: a prison cell or enclosure used especially for receiving prisoners
tanked; tanking; tanks
1
: to make no effort to win : lose intentionally
tanked the match
2
: to place, store, or treat in a tank
1
: to lose intentionally : give up in competition
2
: to suffer rapid decline, failure, or collapse
bought a stock that quickly tanked
Synonyms
Examples of tank in a Sentence
Verb
Some people say she deliberately tanked the match.
Some people have accused her of tanking.
Recent Examples on the Web
Maria Varenikova Nicole Tung, New York Times, 21 Apr. 2024
Massive battle royale sequences filled with arachnid-like tanks, plummeting spaceships, lots of explosions, and people popping out of the ground with rocket launchers are cool.
—David Fear, Rolling Stone, 20 Apr. 2024
Terez Girls’ One-Piece Swimsuit in Neon Butterflies Gear up for summer in this one-piece swimsuit with a U-back and tank straps.
—Phoebe Sklansky, Parents, 19 Apr. 2024
Bat rays glided beneath tentative fingers in shallow touch tanks.
—Elaine Glusac, San Diego Union-Tribune, 18 Apr. 2024
Of those, only the Merkava tank has been seen in action in Gaza, according to Sonny Butterworth, senior analyst with the defense intelligence firm Janes.
—Cate Brown, Washington Post, 16 Apr. 2024
The perimeter sequence was shot in Georgia with real tanks, Humvees, military helicopters and a presidential limousine.
—Jazz Tangcay, Variety, 15 Apr. 2024
Although the larger history within Civil War is oblique, Garland’s script lays out just enough to explain why tanks might be rolling across the country from California to Washington, D.C.
—David Sims, The Atlantic, 8 Apr. 2024
As Israeli tanks and ground troops moved to surround the southern Gazan city of Khan Younis, civilian deaths increased during January and the number of aid trucks allowed to enter plummeted.
—Karen Deyoung, Washington Post, 6 Apr. 2024
Charlie Savage, New York Times, 10 Apr. 2024
Some lawmakers, like outgoing Rep. Ken Buck, R-Colo., think some of the existing reauthorization bills don’t go far enough and threaten to tank congressional approval of the entire program.
—USA TODAY, 4 Apr. 2024
The conservative foundation America First, which has backed a host of anti-DEI lawsuits, has now set its sights on Disney, claiming (erroneously) that diversity efforts have tanked the entertainment juggernaut’s value.
—Lila MacLellan, Fortune, 3 Apr. 2024
On Monday, Turkey woke up to a set of political realities dramatically different from those less than a year ago, when Erdogan secured reelection despite a tanking economy and the hideous impact of an earthquake that devastated the country’s south.
—Ishaan Tharoor, Washington Post, 2 Apr. 2024
There is supposed to be Borderlands 4 coming out at some point here, if Embracer somehow doesn’t tank it as Gearbox’s owner.
—Paul Tassi, Forbes, 21 Feb. 2024
If the company’s board, which includes a number of Trump family members and cronies, tries to waive this provision, alarmed investors could tank the stock before Trump has a chance to cash out.
—John Cassidy, The New Yorker, 29 Mar. 2024
The pile-on continued and some said this could tank her chances of running for office in the future.
—Benjamin Oreskes, Los Angeles Times, 19 Mar. 2024
Those moderates borrowed the playbook from their more conservative colleagues – who have repeatedly brought the House to a standstill in recent months – and threatened to tank an unrelated vote and freeze legislative action.
—Ken Tran, The Courier-Journal, 23 Feb. 2024
Noun
At the plant, Russian artillery had whittled away at the machinery, power lines and tanks for cooling water and fuel.
—Maria Varenikova Nicole Tung, New York Times, 21 Apr. 2024
Massive battle royale sequences filled with arachnid-like tanks, plummeting spaceships, lots of explosions, and people popping out of the ground with rocket launchers are cool.
—David Fear, Rolling Stone, 20 Apr. 2024
Terez Girls’ One-Piece Swimsuit in Neon Butterflies Gear up for summer in this one-piece swimsuit with a U-back and tank straps.
—Phoebe Sklansky, Parents, 19 Apr. 2024
Bat rays glided beneath tentative fingers in shallow touch tanks.
—Elaine Glusac, San Diego Union-Tribune, 18 Apr. 2024
Of those, only the Merkava tank has been seen in action in Gaza, according to Sonny Butterworth, senior analyst with the defense intelligence firm Janes.
—Cate Brown, Washington Post, 16 Apr. 2024
The perimeter sequence was shot in Georgia with real tanks, Humvees, military helicopters and a presidential limousine.
—Jazz Tangcay, Variety, 15 Apr. 2024
Although the larger history within Civil War is oblique, Garland’s script lays out just enough to explain why tanks might be rolling across the country from California to Washington, D.C.
—David Sims, The Atlantic, 8 Apr. 2024
As Israeli tanks and ground troops moved to surround the southern Gazan city of Khan Younis, civilian deaths increased during January and the number of aid trucks allowed to enter plummeted.
—Karen Deyoung, Washington Post, 6 Apr. 2024
Verb
Representative Matt Gaetz, Republican of Florida and one of the leaders of the party’s hard-right wing, had pledged Tuesday to tank it.
—Charlie Savage, New York Times, 10 Apr. 2024
Some lawmakers, like outgoing Rep. Ken Buck, R-Colo., think some of the existing reauthorization bills don’t go far enough and threaten to tank congressional approval of the entire program.
—USA TODAY, 4 Apr. 2024
The conservative foundation America First, which has backed a host of anti-DEI lawsuits, has now set its sights on Disney, claiming (erroneously) that diversity efforts have tanked the entertainment juggernaut’s value.
—Lila MacLellan, Fortune, 3 Apr. 2024
On Monday, Turkey woke up to a set of political realities dramatically different from those less than a year ago, when Erdogan secured reelection despite a tanking economy and the hideous impact of an earthquake that devastated the country’s south.
—Ishaan Tharoor, Washington Post, 2 Apr. 2024
There is supposed to be Borderlands 4 coming out at some point here, if Embracer somehow doesn’t tank it as Gearbox’s owner.
—Paul Tassi, Forbes, 21 Feb. 2024
If the company’s board, which includes a number of Trump family members and cronies, tries to waive this provision, alarmed investors could tank the stock before Trump has a chance to cash out.
—John Cassidy, The New Yorker, 29 Mar. 2024
The pile-on continued and some said this could tank her chances of running for office in the future.
—Benjamin Oreskes, Los Angeles Times, 19 Mar. 2024
Those moderates borrowed the playbook from their more conservative colleagues – who have repeatedly brought the House to a standstill in recent months – and threatened to tank an unrelated vote and freeze legislative action.
—Ken Tran, The Courier-Journal, 23 Feb. 2024
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'tank.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
Dictionary Entries Near tank
Cite this Entry
“Tank.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/tank. Accessed 25 Apr. 2024.
Copy CitationKids Definition
tank
1 of 2 noun1
: a usually large container for holding, transporting, or storing liquids
2
: an enclosed heavily armed and armored combat vehicle that moves on beltlike tracks
tank
2 of 2 verb
: to place, store, or treat in a tank
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