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
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
Overnight, Israel said a military drone struck a militant cell that tried to launch antitank missiles at northern Israel, near the town of Metula.
From Seattle Times ● Nov. 12, 2023
Ukraine also plants expansive fields of antitank mines, to stop Russian advances.
From New York Times ● Jul. 17, 2023
Two of them were scouts, and one was an antitank gunner.
From "Slaughterhouse-Five" by Kurt Vonnegut
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
