Etymology
Origin of tanked
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.
Panic buying fuel in Sri Lanka has brought back memories of 2022, when the economy tanked, with inflation hitting 70 percent after Colombo defaulted on its $46 billion external debt.
From Barron's • Apr. 4, 2026
Early in his L.A. tenure, Walden landed a solid gig scoring movies made for television, a business that tanked with the advent of reality TV.
From Los Angeles Times • Mar. 13, 2026
See: As global markets tanked over Iran, U.S. stocks were mostly unscathed.
From MarketWatch • Mar. 3, 2026
The shares has since tanked nearly 80% from its peak amid a broader crypto downturn that pummeled token prices and dampened investor sentiment.
From The Wall Street Journal • Feb. 25, 2026
We’d taken the test the Monday after Marcus’s party, and I knew I’d tanked it when I turned it in.
From "We Are the Ants" by Shaun David Hutchinson
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.
