tank

American  

[tangk] / tæŋk /

noun

• tanks
  plural

1. a large receptacle, container, or structure for holding a liquid or gas.

   tanks for storing oil.

2. a natural or artificial pool, pond, or lake.

3. Military. an armored, self-propelled combat vehicle, armed with cannon and machine guns and moving on a caterpillar tread.

4. (in a video game) a category of job classes in a role-playing game, best suited to withstand large amounts of damage from an enemy.

   The only decent tank in this game is Warrior, just because the cooldown period for the Paladin and Dark Knight skills is way too long.

5. Slang. a prison cell or enclosure for more than one occupant, as for prisoners awaiting a hearing.

6. tank top.

---

verb (used with object)

• tanks,
  present (3rd person singular)
• tanked,
  past participle,  past
• tanking
  present participle

1. to put or store in a tank.

2. (in a video game) to provoke and hold the attention of (an enemy character) so that it does not target other player characters in the party who are less able to withstand large amounts of damage.

   If you’re properly tanking this boss, you’ll never let him face your mages.

verb (used without object)

• tanks,
  present (3rd person singular)
• tanked,
  past participle,  past
• tanking
  present participle

1. Slang. to do poorly or decline rapidly; fail.

   The movie tanked at the box office.

verb phrase

1. tank up

   1. to fill the gas tank of an automobile or other motor vehicle.

   2. Slang. to drink a great quantity of alcoholic beverage, especially to intoxication.

idioms

1. go in / into the tank, to go through the motions of a match but deliberately lose because of an illicit prearrangement or fix; throw a fight.

2. in the tank,

   1. failing, doing poorly, or declining.

      His grades were in the tank last quarter.

   2. favoring, colluding, or assisting in a partisan way (often followed by with orfor ).

      The talk-show host was in the tank with the Green Party.

tank British  

/ tæŋk /

noun

1. a large container or reservoir for the storage of liquids or gases

   tanks for storing oil

2. 1. an armoured combat vehicle moving on tracks and armed with guns, etc, originally developed in World War I

   2. ( as modifier )

      a tank commander

      a tank brigade

3. dialect a reservoir, lake, or pond

4. photog

   1. a light-tight container inside which a film can be processed in daylight, the solutions and rinsing waters being poured in and out without light entering

   2. any large dish or container used for processing a number of strips or sheets of film

5. slang

   1. a jail

   2. a jail cell

6. Also called: tankful. the quantity contained in a tank

7. a dam formed by excavation

---

verb

1. (tr) to put or keep in a tank

2. (intr) to move like a tank, esp heavily and rapidly

3. slang to defeat heavily

4. informal (intr) to fail, esp commercially

tank More Idioms  

More idioms and phrases containing tank

• think tank

---

Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• tankless
  adjective
• tanklike
  adjective

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• tanks
  plural

Participles

• tanking
  present
• tanked
  past

Conjugated Forms

Present

• tank
  simple
• tanks
  simple
• have tanked
  perfect
• has tanked
  perfect
• am tanking
  progressive
• are tanking
  progressive
• is tanking
  progressive
• have been tanking
  perfect progressive
• has been tanking
  perfect progressive

Past

• tanked
  simple
• had tanked
  perfect
• was tanking
  progressive
• were tanking
  progressive
• had been tanking
  perfect progressive

Future

• will tank
  simple
• will have tanked
  perfect
• will be tanking
  progressive
• will have been tanking
  perfect progressive

---

Etymology

Origin of tank

First recorded in 1610–20; perhaps jointly from Gujarati tānkh “reservoir, lake,” and Portuguese tanque, shortening of estanque “pond,” literally, “something dammed up,” derivative of estancar, from Vulgar Latin stanticāre (unattested) “to dam up, weaken”; adopted as a cover name for the military vehicle during the early stages of its manufacture in England (December 1915)

---

Explanation

A tank is a large container for gases or liquids, like a tank of oil. Another kind of tank is an armored military vehicle with a cannon. If you see that kind of tank driving down the road, run for cover! There are two main kinds of tanks. One kind is a container for water, oil, natural gas, or other liquids and gases. Some houses have fuel oil tanks outside or in the basement. The other kind of tank is a large powerful military vehicle. A tank — which has a cannon — rolls across the ground on treads and is heavily armored. Those tanks can roll right over cars and anything else they want to squish.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

tank tanks tanked tanking

“For the coming months and into 2027, he will be heavily impacted for sure,” said Mehdi Paryavi, the chairman of the Washington, D.C.-based think tank International Data Center Authority.

From Los Angeles Times ● Nov. 5, 2026

When it does, such a statement is typically handled by working-level officials, said Hong Min, a senior researcher at the Korea Institute for National Unification, a South Korea-funded think tank.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 3, 2026

Kyler Daugherty, a 43-year-old health care worker, summed up the sentiment as he filled up his gas tank in Fort Lauderdale, Florida.

From Barron's ● Oct. 30, 2026

The Centre for Cities think tank says some areas may not have the expertise to manage developed powers effectively, risking deeper economic inequalities between areas.

From BBC ● Oct. 30, 2026

Tony told Carmen something else that shocked her, what the molasses company was saying about why the tank broke apart.

From "I Survived the Great Molasses Flood, 1919" by Lauren Tarshis

It is expected that only light equipment, such as drones, will be deployed in Poland for anti-drone and self-defence exercises, rather than heavy weaponry, and that no tanks will be deployed.

From Barron's ● Nov. 3, 2026

According to market watchers, gas storage inflows have stalled as the heating season kicks off, with tanks only 74.9% full.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 30, 2026

Hippos swim in giant glass-fronted tanks, while other vast sections house reptiles and birds -- including penguins.

From Barron's ● Oct. 30, 2026

People are facing a "painful" and "depressing" few years ahead, economic think tanks have warned, after forecasts showed growth in living standards grinding almost to a halt.

From BBC ● Oct. 29, 2026

The distressed man explained that “Mars had cracked open and great tanks of steel had fallen in New Jersey and great monsters had arisen.”

From "Spooked!" by Gail Jarrow

Burrage, who says her blood pressure "tanked" towards the end of the match, decided to share screenshots of the abuse on Instagram to raise awareness of an everyday problem for professional players.

From BBC ● Nov. 5, 2026

The company's stock price has tanked around 30 percent this month as yields on some of its bonds soared, reflecting heightened angst over its future.

From Barron's ● Oct. 19, 2026

In the end, injuries not only ended that dream but tanked his case for a third consecutive MVP as well.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 27, 2026

The goofy, R-rated “Starship Troopers” famously tanked domestically among adults, but was a notable hit among teen boys, who sneaked into the flick in droves.

From Salon ● Sep. 9, 2026

I clicked up some history on the area, heavily industrial, at least until the economy tanked.

From "Burning Blue" by Paul Griffin

"It does have a big impact on households, that's why consumer confidence has been tanking," KPMG's Kim told AFP.

From Barron's ● Oct. 2, 2026

By the end of the school year, Scott’s grades were tanking.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 1, 2026

Mozeliak has said he did not believe that the Angels need to rebuild, that the resources available to a team in the second-largest market in the majors should preclude outright tanking.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 31, 2026

Advisers don’t see the recent bond selloff as a red flag indicating a tanking economy.

From MarketWatch ● Aug. 31, 2026

The stocks of Morgan Stanley and Goldman Sachs were tanking, and it was clear that nothing short of the U.S. government could save them.

From "The Big Short" by Michael Lewis

Random Word

Spin the wheel and learn a new word!

---

Related Words

• pond
• pool
• reservoir

---