think tank

American  

noun

1. a research institute or organization employed to solve complex problems or predict or plan future developments, as in military, political, or social areas.

---

think-tank British  

noun

1. informal  a group of specialists organized by a business enterprise, governmental body, etc, and commissioned to undertake intensive study and research into specified problems

---

think tank Cultural  

1. An institution in which scholars pursue research in public policy. Largely funded by endowments and grants, think tanks work to improve public awareness of policy issues (through publications) and to influence the government to act upon issues of national importance. (See power elite.)

---

think tank Idioms  

1. A group or organization dedicated to problem-solving and research, especially in such areas as technology, social or political strategy, and the military. For example, The congressional leaders rely too heavily on that conservative think tank. This term originated about 1900 as a facetious colloquialism for brain and was given its new meaning about 1950.

---

Etymology

Origin of think tank

1900–05 for earlier sense “brain”; 1955–60 for current sense

Example Sentences

David Bier, director of immigration studies at the Cato Institute, a libertarian think tank, said the government is relying on the shocking percentages, without proper context, to advance a narrative.

From Los Angeles Times

Alex Nowrasteh, an immigration analyst at the Cato Institute think tank, said the programme "was more inconsistent than usual by OIG accounts and compared to the more intensive refugee review process".

From BBC

“The U.S. has kept approving sizable arms packages for Taipei even as economic talks continue,” said Craig Singleton, a senior fellow at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies, a Washington-based think tank.

From The Wall Street Journal

With the new Canada-Alberta pact, “the message from Ottawa is no longer that certain things are off the table,” said Heather Exner-Pirot, director of energy policy at the Macdonald-Laurier Institute think tank in Ottawa.

From The Wall Street Journal

The Resolution Foundation think tank has produced some representative households to demonstrate these different effects:

From BBC