antitank
Americanadjective
adjective
Etymology
Origin of antitank
Explanation
Anything described as antitank is used to defend against tanks, which are massive, armored vehicles. Antitank armor will withstand a shell from a tank. Tanks are huge, armored military vehicles. Any word with the prefix anti goes against something else. Therefore, antitank measures and equipment are designed to defend against attack by tanks. An antitank gun fires at a tank, hoping to hold it off. An antitank barrier is designed to hold back a tank and must be extremely strong. This word is a lot like antiaircraft and antisubmarine, which describe defenses against aircraft and submarines.
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Drones have overtaken more-traditional threats such as antitank missiles, Israeli officials say, and are now the leading cause of battlefield deaths.
From The Wall Street Journal ● May 31, 2026
Most countries refused to sell them to Iran, so the unit started copying Soviet and North Korean designs, and later American Stinger and TOW antitank missiles captured in Afghanistan.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Feb. 8, 2026
So far, though, the Pentagon has identified a potential danger only in a few unusual circumstances, like firing powerful antitank weapons or an abnormally high number of artillery shells.
From New York Times ● May 2, 2024
In flat green fields less than half an hour to the east, though, crews scatter pyramid-shaped reinforced cement antitank obstacles known as “dragon’s teeth.”
From Los Angeles Times ● Apr. 21, 2024
Two of them were scouts, and one was an antitank gunner.
From "Slaughterhouse-Five" by Kurt Vonnegut
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Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
