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
About 60,000 gallons of potable water must be brought daily by tanker truck.
—
Eric Schlosser, The Atlantic, 4 June 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, 4 June 2026
And that’s a hopeful timeline, given the hurdles of demining, returning confidence to captains and insurers, and bringing in a legion of empty tankers to stock up — and the risk that one errant drone could reset the whole process to square one.
—Tim McDonnell, semafor.com, 2 June 2026
With Hormuz tanker traffic still restricted, cumulative oil supply losses from producers in the Middle East now exceed 1 billion barrels, with more than 14 mb/d of oil production shut in.
—Alyson Shontell, Fortune, 2 June 2026
See All Example Sentences for tanker
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Eric Schlosser, The Atlantic, 4 June 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, 4 June 2026
And that’s a hopeful timeline, given the hurdles of demining, returning confidence to captains and insurers, and bringing in a legion of empty tankers to stock up — and the risk that one errant drone could reset the whole process to square one.
—Tim McDonnell, semafor.com, 2 June 2026
With Hormuz tanker traffic still restricted, cumulative oil supply losses from producers in the Middle East now exceed 1 billion barrels, with more than 14 mb/d of oil production shut in.
—Alyson Shontell, Fortune, 2 June 2026
See All Example Sentences for tanker
Cite this Entry
“Tanker.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/tanker. Accessed 5 Jun. 2026.
Copy CitationKids Definition
tanker
noun
tank·er
ˈtaŋ-kər 
: a vehicle (as a ship, truck, or aircraft) designed for the transportation of liquids
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