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
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Recent Examples of tanking
Load management, like tanking, isn’t the Heat Way.
—
Dave Hyde, Sun Sentinel, 27 Apr. 2026
Trump is facing an uphill battle to retain his control of Congress at a time when his popularity is tanking.
—Andres Oppenheimer, Miami Herald, 23 Apr. 2026
Donovan and the Reinsdorfs were aligned in their aversion to tanking, but the NBA is not the NFL, and there are no quick fixes.
—Jon Greenberg, New York Times, 21 Apr. 2026
The Knicks were plus-32 in the 167 minutes spent with Towns and Brunson off the floor from March 1 through the end of the regular season, but the March slate featured a notoriously light stretch of games against tanking opponents for a seven-game Knicks winning streak.
—Kristian Winfield, New York Daily News, 21 Apr. 2026
But when a tanking team played a non-tanking team, the chance of the game being decided by at least 20 points went up to a whopping 35%.
—Lev Akabas, Sportico.com, 17 Apr. 2026
Once in 2018, he was fined a whopping $600,000 for comments about tanking during a podcast with Hall of Famer Julius Erving.
—Sydney Lake, Fortune, 9 Apr. 2026
The Kings found themselves in the crosshairs of the NBA’s tanking crackdown after coach Doug Christie made a peculiar decision late in his team’s 110-105 loss to the Warriors at Chase Center in San Francisco.
—Jason Anderson, Sacbee.com, 9 Apr. 2026
Green is pushing for the league to more aggressively fine teams when tanking is suspected.
—Chantz Martin, FOXNews.com, 8 Apr. 2026
Dave Hyde, Sun Sentinel, 27 Apr. 2026
Trump is facing an uphill battle to retain his control of Congress at a time when his popularity is tanking.
—Andres Oppenheimer, Miami Herald, 23 Apr. 2026
Donovan and the Reinsdorfs were aligned in their aversion to tanking, but the NBA is not the NFL, and there are no quick fixes.
—Jon Greenberg, New York Times, 21 Apr. 2026
The Knicks were plus-32 in the 167 minutes spent with Towns and Brunson off the floor from March 1 through the end of the regular season, but the March slate featured a notoriously light stretch of games against tanking opponents for a seven-game Knicks winning streak.
—Kristian Winfield, New York Daily News, 21 Apr. 2026
But when a tanking team played a non-tanking team, the chance of the game being decided by at least 20 points went up to a whopping 35%.
—Lev Akabas, Sportico.com, 17 Apr. 2026
Once in 2018, he was fined a whopping $600,000 for comments about tanking during a podcast with Hall of Famer Julius Erving.
—Sydney Lake, Fortune, 9 Apr. 2026
The Kings found themselves in the crosshairs of the NBA’s tanking crackdown after coach Doug Christie made a peculiar decision late in his team’s 110-105 loss to the Warriors at Chase Center in San Francisco.
—Jason Anderson, Sacbee.com, 9 Apr. 2026
Green is pushing for the league to more aggressively fine teams when tanking is suspected.
—Chantz Martin, FOXNews.com, 8 Apr. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for tanking
Verb
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Much of the discussion following the game is about flopping and supposed favorable whistles for the Thunder.—
Jon Root OutKick,
FOXNews.com,
8 May 2026
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Suggs set the tone for the series in the opening quarter of Game 1, disrupting Pistons passes, sinking a pair of 3-pointers and belly-flopping to the floor to collect a loose basketball.—
Josh Robbins,
New York Times,
1 May 2026
Verb
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It was abandoned in 1961 and nature took its course, with brambles spreading and structures collapsing.—
Brian Boucher,
ARTnews.com,
7 May 2026
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The problem is those roofs cannot go too low without the roof potentially collapsing, creating fire and explosion risks.—
Jordan Blum,
Fortune,
6 May 2026
Verb
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Ugarte previously agreed to a $25,000 settlement with the Los Angeles City Ethics Commission over failing to disclose outside income earned through his consulting firm while serving as a City Hall aide to Price.—
Teresa Liu,
Daily News,
9 May 2026
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While the city has admirably put forward goals such as reducing chronic homelessness by 50%, ending family homelessness and eliminating long-term encampments within five years, there appear to be no consequences for repeatedly failing to meet these targets.—
Adam B. Summers,
Oc Register,
9 May 2026
Verb
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Kelly has dedicated his career to understanding what happens when the protein folding process goes wrong.—
Ashley Mackin Solomon,
San Diego Union-Tribune,
4 May 2026
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The video then shows the group filing through inside hallways, and grabbing items, including a folding chair.—
Joe Kottke,
NBC news,
3 May 2026
Verb
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At the time, the group had around two dozen employees and was struggling for financial stability.—
Molly Fischer,
New Yorker,
11 May 2026
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The key will be to continue building off the encouraging start, especially after struggling with his command in Colorado last week.—
Jesús Cano,
New York Times,
11 May 2026
Verb
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We now are faced with missing holidays with them to comply with their demands.—
R. Eric Thomas,
Chicago Tribune,
10 May 2026
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Just 93 seconds later, with the Wild on its first power play of the game and Wedgewood missing his stick, Hughes scored his fourth goal of the playoffs, giving Minnesota its first multi-goal lead of the series.—
Jess Myers,
Twin Cities,
10 May 2026
Verb
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Underlying tensions are taut, Iran thinks the US blockade is a violation, the UAE is still smarting from Iranian missile attacks Monday and Tuesday, and Israel is torching a key plank of the ceasefire deal, re-escalating in Lebanon by bombing Hezbollah leaders.—
Jennifer Hansler,
CNN Money,
7 May 2026
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Trump claimed Friday that the law is a moot point because the United States is no longer bombing Iran.—
Michael Loria,
USA Today,
2 May 2026
Cite this Entry
“Tanking.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/tanking. Accessed 11 May. 2026.
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