Synonyms of tanking

tanking

verb

present participle of tank

as in flopping

to be unsuccessful

her intended comeback movie tanked at the box office, and once again she was relegated to TV guest spots

Synonyms & Similar Words

• flopping
• collapsing
• failing
• folding
• struggling
• missing
• bombing
• cratering
• striking out
• flunking
• foundering
• declining
• flaming out
• falling short
• laying an egg
• falling flat
• washing out
• coming to grief
• crashing
• slumping
• floundering
• dying on the vine
• coming a cropper
• coming up empty
• slipping
• falling on one's face
• waning
• sinking
• skidding
• crumbling
• misfiring
• imploding
• miscarrying
• going under
• self-destructing

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• going
• succeeding
• delivering
• working out
• clicking
• going over
• coming off
• cooking
• flourishing
• prospering
• thriving
• winning
• panning out
• prevailing
• triumphing

Example Sentences

Recent Examples of tanking

A lot of teams at the bottom might be tanking for Arch Manning, and there is no real new blood at quarterback this season. — Vic Tafur, New York Times, 9 Sep. 2026

During the 1996–97 season, for example, the Boston Celtics went 15–67 and effectively admitted to tanking for the right to draft Tim Duncan. — Jay Caspian Kang, New Yorker, 8 Sep. 2026

Data centers are becoming the political flash point of the midterms as candidates race to respond to tanking public opinion. — Justine McDaniel, Los Angeles Times, 6 Sep. 2026

However, some traders appeared unconvinced by the company’s plans, with its stock tanking almost 10% in trading on Monday, its steepest single-day drop in more than a year. — Jeronimo Gonzalez, semafor.com, 24 Aug. 2026

Smoke from these blazes is also tanking air quality in parts of the Northwest. — Mary Gilbert, CNN Money, 8 Aug. 2026

The Athletics have just two more wins than the Angels and are also tanking. — David Troy Outkick, FOXNews.com, 4 Aug. 2026

And that’s good, because there is zero indication the new leadership will be tanking, and good reason to think the Dolphins may be ‘over’ the betting over/under of 4 1/2 victories. — Greg Cote july 27, Miami Herald, 27 July 2026

But everything changed after a 1954 Life Magazine article, which argued that literacy rates were tanking because children were bored with Dick and Jane primers. — Clare Mulroy, USA Today, 11 July 2026