supertanker

American

[soo-per-tang-ker] / ˈsu pərˌtæŋ kər /

noun

a tanker with a deadweight capacity of over 75,000 tons.

supertanker British

/ ˈsuːpəˌtæŋkə /

noun

a large fast tanker of more than 275 000 tons capacity

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Etymology

Origin of supertanker

super- + tanker

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.

A supertanker docked in Long Beach just delivered California’s last incoming shipment of Middle Eastern oil, a grim milestone for drivers already paying the nation’s highest fuel prices.

From The Wall Street Journal • May 11, 2026

According to Kpler, the ship that was seized was the Skipper, a supertanker holding more than a million barrels of Venezuelan heavy crude.

From Barron's • Dec. 11, 2025

The United Nations has started a operation to remove 1.1 million barrels of oil from a decaying supertanker moored off Yemen's Red Sea coast.

From BBC • May 31, 2023

A United Nations operation to avert a catastrophic oil spill in the Red Sea by salvaging a decaying supertanker off the coast of Yemen is moving forward this week after years of delays.

From New York Times • May 30, 2023

The latest supply included the supertanker Nolan, which arrived around mid-March near Antilla, according to a satellite picture obtained by TankerTrackers.com, carrying 1.53 million barrels of Venezulean crude and fuel oil.

From Reuters • Apr. 5, 2023

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023