tank

noun \ ˈtaŋk \

|Updated on: 13 Aug 2018

Examples: tank in a Sentence

Definition of tank

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

4 dialect : pond, pool; especially : one built as a water supply

5 : a prison cell or enclosure used especially for receiving prisoners

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tankful

play \ˈtaŋk-ˌfu̇l\ noun

—

tanklike

play \ˈtaŋk-ˌlīk\ adjective

— in the tank or into the tank

: in or into a decline or slump

the sullen student's grades went into the tank

See tank defined for English-language learners

See tank defined for kids

Recent Examples of tank from the Web

Growing spirulina in tanks can yield 20 times more protein per unit area than soyabeans, and more than 200 times more than beef, while using much less water.

— The Economist, "The future of food, served up right here in augmented reality," 7 July 2018
On Thursday evening, rescuers began running a hose toward the cavern in hopes of pumping in more air, in addition to carrying in air tanks for future use, as the diver who perished, Saman Gunan, 38, had been doing.

— richard c. paddock, BostonGlobe.com, "Thai cave rescue will be a murky, desperate ordeal, divers say," 6 July 2018
Ballast water is carried in special tanks to improve a ship's stability.

— keith matheny, Detroit Free Press, "Snyder vetoes bill weakening ballast water standards," 29 June 2018
In the Bay Foundation’s two-year-old Abalone Research Laboratory on Terminal Island, abalone of varying sizes pass their days submerged in white tanks of saltwater.

— degen pener, Los Angeles Magazine, "What’s Being Done to Revive L.A.’s Decimated Abalone Population," 22 June 2018
Using infrared cameras, an airplane survey of 8000 industry sites found that 4% had unusually high methane emissions, most tied to hatches and vents in natural gas storage tanks at extraction wells.

— warren cornwall, Science | AAAS, "Natural gas could warm the planet as much as coal in the short term," 21 June 2018
While made with ale yeasts, unlike most ales it is kept in storage tanks for at least a month.

— peter rowe, sandiegouniontribune.com, "In historic first, San Diego's SouthNorte partners with Tijuana brewery," 21 June 2018
Soon, the team had nine burrowing giant clams resting comfortably on flat, color-changing pH-sensitive foil in lab tanks.

— veronique greenwood, New York Times, "This Burrowing Clam Is Not Boring. It Uses Acid to Make Its Home.," 14 June 2018
At a weapons range, the civilians were able to fire rifles and machine guns and rode in tanks.

— marc freeman, Sun-Sentinel.com, "State Attorney Dave Aronberg gets close look at U.S. military ops," 8 June 2018

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'tank.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Origin and Etymology of tank

Portuguese tanque, alteration of estanque, from estancar to stanch, perhaps from Vulgar Latin *stanticare — more at stanch

NEW! Time Traveler

First Known Use: 1609

in the meaning defined at sense 4

See Words from the same year

tank

verb

Definition of tank

tanked; tanking; tanks

transitive verb

1 : to make no effort to win : lose intentionally

tanked the match

2 : to place, store, or treat in a tank

intransitive verb

1 : to lose intentionally : give up in competition

2 : to suffer rapid decline, failure, or collapse

bought a stock that quickly tanked

See tank defined for English-language learners

Examples of tank in a Sentence

Some people say she deliberately tanked the match.
Some people have accused her of tanking.

Recent Examples of tank from the Web

Some legislators, especially conservatives, privately hoped that the President would tank the moderate option and force the Republicans to vote for the Goodlatte proposal.

— philip elliott, Time, "President Trump Spiked an Immigration Compromise He Supported," 15 June 2018
Leadership has promised conservatives a vote on their bill, which is not expected to have enough Republican votes for passage, although conservatives tanked the unrelated bill anyway.

— tal kopan, CNN, "Republicans' immigration collision course on track for dramatic conclusion," 5 June 2018
The rush of demand illustrates the challenge ahead for Chinese officials, who are seeking to tame house-price bubbles without tanking the entire economy.

— Bloomberg.com, "North Korea Border Town Is Now China’s Hottest Property Market," 9 May 2018
As of this week, the opponents of the initiative had given nearly $2.2 million to tank it.

— taryn luna, sacbee, "There's a deal to pull consumer privacy measure from the California ballot," 21 June 2018
Not bad for the squad that tanked in the previous four seasons.

— keith pompey, Philly.com, "Sixers, Brett Brown agree to three-year contract extension, sources say," 29 May 2018
McCain is publicly engineering a bid to tank Trump's pick to lead the CIA, Gina Haspel.

— amber phillips, Washington Post, "John McCain is poking Trump where it hurts this week," 10 May 2018
But by the time HomePods arrived in stores, sales were tanking, says Slice principal analyst Ken Cassar.

— Fortune, "Apple HomePod Disappoints With Slow Sales After Tardy Debut," 12 Apr. 2018
The economy will however eventually tank again on its own merits, and those who chose to not use the tax cuts to create stability will be in a worse position.

— peter dunn, USA TODAY, "Getting more take-home pay? What you should do with your paycheck increase," 30 Mar. 2018

First Known Use of tank

1863

in the meaning defined at transitive sense 2

See Words from the same year

NEW! Time Traveler

tank Synonyms

Phrases

come a cropper, come to grief, come up empty, die on the vine, fall flat, fall on one's face, fall short, lay an egg;

TANK Defined for English Language Learners

tank

noun

Definition of tank for English Language Learners

: a container for holding a liquid or gas
: the amount that a tank will hold
: a military vehicle that moves on two large metal belts with wheels inside them and that is covered in heavy armor

tank

verb

Definition of tank for English Language Learners

: to be very unsuccessful : to fail completely
: to make no effort to win a contest (such as a tennis match) : to deliberately lose a game, match, etc.