tank

[ tangk ]

noun

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: DD ( def 2 ), healer ( def 3 ).

   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)

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)

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

   The movie tanked at the box office.

verb phrase

1. 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.

tank

/ 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 calledtankful 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

Derived Forms

• ˈtankˌlike, adjective
• ˈtankless, adjective

Other Words From

• tank·less adjective
• tank·like adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of tank¹

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)

Word History and Origins

Origin of tank¹

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

Idioms and Phrases

Idioms

1. 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.
2. in the tank, Slang.
   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 or for ):

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

More idioms and phrases containing tank

In addition to the idiom beginning with tank , also see think tank .

Example Sentences

Jess Sargeant, who had worked for think tank Labour Together, became the deputy director in the Cabinet Office's Propriety and Constitution Group.

From BBC

When she resigned in 2019, she did so on good terms with Trump — unlike many appointees — and later became the chair of the America First Policy Institute, a Trump-connected policy think tank.

From Los Angeles Times

During the campaign, Trump denied any connection to the document, which was released last year by the Heritage Foundation, a conservative think tank, but its authors have extensive ties to his former administration.

From Science Magazine

Models purposefully walked down the runway in flowing suits of crushed velvet and satin, matching leather mini-shorts and jackets, sequined hot pants and tank top sets in yellow smiley graphics and graffiti print.

From Los Angeles Times

A third Goldberg resolution takes aim at the education portion of Project 2025, a think tank effort that set out policy goals for a second Trump administration.

From Los Angeles Times

Related Words

• pond
• pool
• reservoir