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• think tank
  think tank

  noun

  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
  think-tank

  noun

  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

American  

noun

• think tanks
  plural

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

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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

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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.)

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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.

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Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

• think tanks
  plural

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Etymology

Origin of think tank

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

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Example Sentences

See Examples For:

think tank think-tank

“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

Last year, 43 percent of Turkey's electricity came from clean energy sources, of which wind and solar accounted for 22 percent, according to energy think tank Ember.

From Barron's ● Nov. 5, 2026

The elaborate system makes it difficult for banks to know payments are connected to Iran, said Miad Maleki, a former senior Treasury official now at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies think tank.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 3, 2026

"The identity of the party is pretty cloudy," said Ruy Teixeira, a senior fellow at the American Enterprise Institute, a centre-right think tank.

From BBC ● Oct. 30, 2026

“Did y’all know Petey has a meeting with a think tank on Saturday?”

From "The Last Last-Day-of-Summer" by Lamar Giles

With no let-up in attacks, Olena Pavlenko, head of the DiXi Group energy think-tank, said that figure could well be an underestimate.

From Barron's ● Oct. 20, 2026

The Death Penalty Information Center, a think-tank that does not take a stance on the death penalty, lists 64 botched executions since 1982, 51 of them lethal injections.

From BBC ● Oct. 2, 2026

Some think-tank analysts invited to meet the Iranian delegation said they are wary of U.S. sanctions that restrict informal policy dialogues with Tehran’s officials.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 22, 2026

The construction boom is the first significant US military activity under that compact, explained Ongerung Kambes Kesolei, founder of local think-tank the Congress Point Institute.

From Barron's ● Sep. 16, 2026

Yes I know," said Mickey, "but as long as everything you say swings the circle and rounds up with Peter, it's no job to guess what's most important in your think-tank.

From Michael O'Halloran by Gene Stratton-Porter

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