tanker

noun

tank·​er ˈtaŋ-kər 

1

a

: a cargo ship fitted with tanks for carrying liquid in bulk

b

: a vehicle on which a tank is mounted to carry fluids

also : a cargo airplane for transporting fuel

2

: a member of a military tank crew

Examples of tanker in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

The crude oil tanker Idemitsu Maru sails through Ise Bay near Chita City in Aichi Prefecture, Japan, May 25, 2026, after becoming the first crude tanker bound for Japan to transit the Strait of Hormuz during the Iran war. —Mark Osborne, CBS News, 28 May 2026

Rates have been mostly trending higher since the war with Iran began, disrupting the passage of tankers ferrying crude oil from the Persian Gulf to customers worldwide. —ABC News, 28 May 2026

This 15-day expedition is so logistically complex that the operators often have to install their own water tankers at remote sidings to service the train. —Rebecca Ann Hughes, Forbes.com, 27 May 2026

Shortly after Iran effectively shut down the Strait of Hormuz to foreign tankers, local energy producers ran out of places to store the oil and gas that was piling up. —David Goldman, CNN Money, 27 May 2026

Word History

First Known Use

1900, in the meaning defined at sense 1a

Phrases Containing tanker

• oil tanker

Rhymes for tanker

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

Kids Definition

tanker

noun

tank·​er ˈtaŋ-kər 

: a vehicle (as a ship, truck, or aircraft) designed for the transportation of liquids