tank

[ tangk ]

/ tæŋk /

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See synonyms for: tank / tanked on Thesaurus.com

noun

a large receptacle, container, or structure for holding a liquid or gas: tanks for storing oil.

a natural or artificial pool, pond, or lake.

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

(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.See also DD (def. 2), healer (def. 3).

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

tank top.

verb (used with object)

to put or store in a tank.

(in a video game) to provoke and hold the attention of (an enemy character) so that it does not target otherplayer 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)

Slang. to do poorly or decline rapidly; fail: The movie tanked at the box office.

Verb Phrases

tank up,

to fill the gas tank of an automobile or other motor vehicle.
Slang. to drink a great quantity of alcoholic beverage, especially to intoxication.

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Idioms about tank

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

in the tank, Slang.

failing, doing poorly, or declining: His grades were in the tank last quarter.
favoring, colluding, or assisting in a partisan way (often followed by with or for): The talk-show host was in the tank with the Green Party.

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)

OTHER WORDS FROM tank

tank·less, adjectivetank·like, adjective

Words nearby tank

Tanizaki Jun-ichiro, Tanjore, Tanjungkarang, Tanjungpandan, Tanjungpriok, tank, tanka, tankage, tankard, tank car, tank destroyer

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use tank in a sentence

It might be possible to boost oxygen levels in a water tank to make this gas more available to sea stars.
Choked by bacteria, some starfish are turning to goo|Erin Garcia de Jesus|February 8, 2021|Science News For Students
Some techniques include increasing the oxygen levels in a water tank to make the gas more easily available to sea stars or getting rid of extra organic matter with ultraviolet light or water exchange.
Some bacteria are suffocating sea stars, turning the animals to goo|Erin Garcia de Jesus|January 20, 2021|Science News
Keep in mind that budget models usually don’t include filters or fans, which adds further cleaning requirements on top of the frequent refilling faced with small tanks.
The best humidifier: Fight dry air (and a dry nose) all winter long|PopSci Commerce Team|January 15, 2021|Popular-Science
If there’s still fuel in my tank after this hour or so of cooking, I’ll make a big jar of super-simple salad dressing.
To Combat Cooking Burnout, Do It All at Once|Elazar Sontag|January 14, 2021|Eater

A fully-sealed HEPA filtration system means it’s great for anyone with allergies, and the easy-empty tank avoids mess.
Best vacuum cleaner: How to tidy up fast|Charlotte Marcus|January 14, 2021|Popular-Science
“The events this year with Ukraine led to his ties with Cato being severed,” a source at the think tank told The Daily Beast.
Vaclav Klaus, Libertarian Hero, Has His Wings Clipped by Cato Institute|James Kirchick|December 22, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Tank Battle Kim's death -- a clean version of Kim's Face shot (no head burning or head exploding).
Sony Emails Show How the Studio Plans to Censor Kim Jong Un Assassination Comedy ‘The Interview’|William Boot|December 15, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Tank Battle Jeep Guard Crush -- some editorial changes and the removal of all blood when the guards are crushed by the tank.
Sony Emails Show How the Studio Plans to Censor Kim Jong Un Assassination Comedy ‘The Interview’|William Boot|December 15, 2014|DAILY BEAST
And he would especially like American FGM-148 Javelins, man-portable anti-tank missiles to hit at Russian armor.
Should the U.S. Arm Ukraine’s Militias?|Jamie Dettmer|November 24, 2014|DAILY BEAST
As they passed the runway, bullets shot up from the tall grass, puncturing a fuel tank.
‘Argo’ in the Congo: The Ghosts of the Stanleyville Hostage Crisis|Nina Strochlic|November 23, 2014|DAILY BEAST
It is of the vertical kind, and stands on a shallow square tank, which forms the hot well.
Life of Richard Trevithick, Volume II (of 2)|Francis Trevithick
On one side loomed a huge tank, to the brink of which a rickety wooden ladder invited the explorer to ascend.
Dope|Sax Rohmer
A single oar used rather as rudder than paddle guides the tank to the middle of the stream, where it floats to its destination.
Journal of a Voyage to Brazil|Maria Graham
No shooting and they would be miles away before they stopped rubbing their eyes in that one water-tank burg.
Hooded Detective, Volume III No. 2, January, 1942|Various
The milky juice is emptied from the cups into a tank and lime juice is added and it is then allowed to stand.
The Wonder Book of Knowledge|Various

British Dictionary definitions for tank

tank

/ (tæŋk) /

noun

a large container or reservoir for the storage of liquids or gasestanks for storing oil

an armoured combat vehicle moving on tracks and armed with guns, etc, originally developed in World War I
(as modifier)a tank commander; a tank brigade

British and US dialect a reservoir, lake, or pond

photog

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

slang, mainly US

a jail
a jail cell

Also called: tankful the quantity contained in a tank

Australian a dam formed by excavation

verb

(tr) to put or keep in a tank

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

slang to defeat heavily

(intr) informal to fail, esp commercially

Derived forms of tank

tankless, adjectivetanklike, adjective

Word Origin for tank

C17: from Gujarati tānkh artificial lake, but influenced also by Portuguese tanque, from estanque pond, from estancar to dam up, from Vulgar Latin stanticāre (unattested) to block, stanch

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

Other Idioms and Phrases with tank

tank

In addition to the idiom beginning with tank

tank up

also see:

think tank

tank

Idioms about tank

Origin of tank

OTHER WORDS FROM tank

Words nearby tank

Words related to tank

How to use tank in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for tank

Derived forms of tank

Word Origin for tank

Other Idioms and Phrases with tank