tank

• IPA^(key): /tæŋk/
  • (æ-tensing) IPA^(key): [ˈtʰeɪŋk]

• Audio (AU)

  (file)

• Rhymes: -æŋk

From Portuguese tanque (“tank, liquid container”), originally from Indian vernacular for a large artificial water reservoir, cistern, pool, etc., for example, Gujarati ટાંકી (ṭā̃kī) or Marathi टाकी (ṭākī). Compare the Arabic verb اِسْتَنْقَعَ (istanqaʕa, “to become stagnant, to stagnate”).

In the sense of armoured vehicle, first attested in 1915, prototypes were described as tanks for carrying water to disguise their nature as well as due to physical resemblance.

tank (plural tanks)

1. A closed container for liquids or gases.

   The propane is stored in these tanks.

   The tank contains unfiltered water. You really shouldn't drink from that.

   • 1938, Norman Lindsay, Age of Consent, 1st Australian edition, Sydney, N.S.W.: Ure Smith, published 1962, →OCLC, page 29:

     The other room was a kitchen, with an open fireplace, a safe, a dresser and a tin sink, with a tap from the tank outside.

2. An open container or pool for storing water or other liquids.

   The contractors installed a new tank with gorgeous fish and corals.

   The ore slurries are directed into an open tank outside the excavation site.

3. A pond, pool, or small lake (either natural or artificial).[1]
   • 1896, Henry Lawson, Out Back:

     The tanks are full and the grass is high.

4. The fuel reservoir of a vehicle.

   We have brought the van to a garage after we found a leak in the tank.

5. The amount held by a container; a tankful.

   I burned three tanks of gas on the drive to New York.

6. An armoured fighting vehicle, armed with a gun designed for direct fire, and moving on caterpillar tracks.

   The journalist mistook the self-propelled artillery vehicle for a tank.

   Few remember the female tanks that were produced between the World Wars.

   • 2007 September 25, Bungie, Halo 3, Microsoft Game Studios, Xbox 360, level/area: The Ark:

     Tank beats everything! Oh, man! I could do this all day!

7. (Australia, India) A reservoir or dam.
8. (botany) A structure of tightly overlapping leaves used by some bromeliads to retain water.
9. (colloquial) A very muscular and physically imposing person; somebody who is built like a tank.
10. (UK, slang, dated, by extension) A bouncer or doorman.
11. (roleplaying games, board games, video games) a unit or character designed primarily around damage absorption and holding the attention of the enemy (as opposed to dealing damage, healing, or other tasks).

    The paladin can make for a decent tank, but I recommend that you get a class with better taunting skills.

12. (US, slang) A prison cell, or prison generally.

    drunk tank

    The sheriff threw us in the tank without charges!

    • 1985 April 13, Philip Brasfield, “Echoes Inside of What's Outside”, in Gay Community News, page 4:

      By the nature of imprisonment, one is perceived by free society as something subhuman. By the nature of being on a protective custody tank, a "gay tank", everyone there is seen as members of the lowest caste in the system.

    • 1987, Shane MacGowan, Jem Finer (lyrics and music), “Fairytale of New York”, in If I Should Fall from Grace with God, performed by The Pogues ft. Kirsty MacColl:

      It was Christmas Eve, babe, in the drunk tank / An old man said to me, “Won't see another one”

13. (poker, slang) A metaphorical place where a player goes to contemplate a decision; see in the tank.
14. (rail transport) Short for tank engine and tank locomotive.
    • 1941 September, “The Why and the Wherefore: The Longest Tank Locomotives”, in Railway Magazine, pages 431–432:

      Before their conversion to 4-6-0 tender locomotives, the L.B. & S.C.R. Baltic tank engines Nos. 330 to 334 measured 50 ft. 5 in. over buffers; the nearest present approach to this figure is the 49 ft. 10½ in. of the remaining ex-Lancashire & Yorkshire Hughes type 4-cylinder 4-6-4 tanks of the L.M.S.R. The Furness and G. & S.W.R. 4-6-4 tanks of the same company, all now scrapped, were, respectively, 49 ft. 1½ in. and 47 ft. 8 in. long.

15. (clothing) Short for tank top.
    • 2008, Nora Roberts, Tribute, New York, N.Y.: G. P. Putnam’s Sons, →ISBN, page 206:

      It pleased her more than she could say to know she walked on her own land, over dewed grass, wearing a tank and cotton pajama pants.

    • 2022, Robyn Henderson-Espinoza, Body Becoming: A Path to Our Liberation, Minneapolis, Minn.: Broadleaf Books, 1517 Media, →ISBN:

      I was wearing a tank and some cotton pants.

    • 2023 August 9, Brooke Kato, “Gen Z loves the ‘wife beater’ tee — but they’re canceling the name”, in New York Post‎, New York, N.Y.: News Corp, →ISSN, →OCLC, archived from the original on 2023-08-10:

      On TikTok, #wifepleaser boasts more than 11.4 million views, while #wifepleasertank has racked up 13.9 million. […] Thanks to TikTok, there has been a mass adoption of the term “wife pleaser” in an attempt to rebrand the tank.

• (military fighting vehicle): battle tank, combat tank, armour (mass noun), tango (Canadian military slang)

• (antonym(s) of “gaming”): glass cannon

• (military fighting vehicle): armoured fighting vehicle, armored fighting vehicle, AFV, armoured combat vehicle, armored combat vehicle

• (military fighting vehicle): infantry tank (historical), cavalry tank (historical), fast tank (historical), cruiser tank (historical), superheavy tank (historical), tankette (historical), bobbin tank (historical), light tank, medium tank, heavy tank, main battle tank, MBT, flail tank, flame tank, flamethrower tank

• (military fighting vehicle): armoured car, armoured train, armoured personnel carrier, armored personnel carrier, APC, infantry fighting vehicle, IFV, self-propelled gun, SPG, tank destroyer, assault gun

tank (third-person singular simple present tanks, present participle tanking, simple past and past participle tanked)

1. To fail or fall (often used in describing the economy or the stock market); to degenerate or decline rapidly; to plummet.
   • 2008 October, Davy Rothbart, “How I caught up with dad”, in Men's Health, volume 23, number 8, →ISSN, page 112:

     He told me about all the odd jobs he'd taken after I was born, when Michigan's economy was tanking. For one, he crisscrossed the Midwest buying old carpets from dentists' offices.

   • 2022 October 5, “Network News: Private sector's role in a publicly-owned railway”, in RAIL, number 967, page 16:

     "[...] If the economy has tanked... then we don't want to over-promise and under-deliver."

2. (video games) To attract the attacks of an enemy target in cooperative team-based combat, so that one's teammates can defeat the enemy in question more efficiently.
3. (transitive) To put (fuel, etc.) into a tank.
   • 1913, Geoffrey Martin, Industrial and manufacturing chemistry:

     Sometimes oils are tanked for months or years at a time (e.g., linseed oil).

4. To deliberately lose a sports match with the intent of gaining a perceived future competitive advantage.
   • 2006 March 6, Michael Farber, “Swede Success”, in (Please provide the book title or journal name)‎, Sports Illustrated, archived from the original on 4 November 2012:

     Beforehand, Swedish [national ice hockey team] coach Bengt-Ake Gustafsson had ruminated about tanking against Slovakia to avoid powerful Canada or the Czechs in the quarters [i.e., quarterfinals of the 2006 Winter Olympic tournament], telling Swedish television, "One is cholera, the other the plague."

5. (fandom slang) To resist damage; to be attacked without being hurt.
   • 2015 March 1, DudeFuckMath, “Bane [DC] vs Iron Fist [Marvel]”, in Reddit (r/whowouldwin)‎, retrieved 2017-06-19:

     Unless Bane can tank Helicarrier-busting explosions I'm not sure how he stands a chance.

   • 2016 June 2, MercinWithAMouth, “Superman Stongest Feat Ever”, in Comic Vine Forums‎, retrieved 2017-06-19:

     A weakened Superman tanked an explosion 50 times larger than the Kepler's Supernova and the electromagnetic shock wave hit him.

   • 2016 July 22, Si-Phon Dom, “Big Barda Vs She Hulk”, in Comics Amino‎, retrieved 2017-06-19:

     Barda could BFR and I doubt She hulk is tanking a blow from her rod, so she takes.

6. (originally poker, slang) To contemplate a decision for a long time; to go in the tank.
7. To put or keep in a tank.

   Concrete below ground must be fully tanked to prevent water uptake.

• tank up
• face tank

tank (plural tanks)

1. A small Indian dry measure, averaging 240 grains in weight.[1]
2. A Bombay weight of 72 grains, for pearls.[2]

(This etymology is missing or incomplete. Please add to it, or discuss it at the Etymology scriptorium.)

tank (third-person singular simple present tanks, present participle tanking, simple past and past participle tanked)

1. (Singapore, informal) To stand; to tolerate.

• buay tank

• tank on Wikipedia.Wikipedia

• Kant

tank

1. (Gressoney) thank you

• dankche
• fergälts Got
• merci
• vrattrus Got
• wol vergelzgott

• Patuzzi, Umberto, ed., (2013) Luserna / Lusérn: Le nostre parole / Ünsarne börtar / Unsere Wörter [Our Words], Luserna, Italy: Comitato unitario delle isole linguistiche storiche germaniche in Italia / Einheitskomitee der historischen deutschen Sprachinseln in Italien

Internationalism. From English tank, from Portuguese tanque, from Gujarati ટાંકી (ṭā̃kī), from Marathi टाकी (ṭākī), ultimately from Sanskrit तडग (taḍaga, “pond”).

tank (definite accusative tankı, plural tanklar)

1. tank

• “tank” in Obastan.com.

• IPA^(key): [ˈtaŋk]
• Rhymes: -aŋk

tank m inan

1. tank, armor

• tank in Příruční slovník jazyka českého, 1935–1957
• tank in Slovník spisovného jazyka českého, 1960–1971, 1989

Borrowed from English tank.

• IPA^(key): /tanˀk/, [ˈtˢɑŋˀɡ̊]

tank c (singular definite tanken, plural indefinite tanke)

1. tank (for storage)

   Synonym: beholder

2. (informal) filling station, gas station (US), petrol station (UK), service station

   Synonym: tankstation

• “tank,1” in Den Danske Ordbog

Borrowed from English tank (but later than the previous word).

• IPA^(key): /taːnk/, [ˈtˢæːŋɡ̊]

tank c (singular definite tanken, plural indefinite tanks)

1. tank (military fighting vehicle)

   Synonym: kampvogn

• “tank,2” in Den Danske Ordbog

See the etymology of the corresponding lemma form.

• IPA^(key): /tanˀk/, [ˈtˢɑŋˀɡ̊]

tank

1. imperative of tanke

• (Belgium) IPA^(key): /tɑŋk/
• (Netherlands) IPA^(key): /tɛŋk/

• Audio

  (file)

• Hyphenation: tank
• (Belgium) Rhymes: -ɑŋk
• (Netherlands) Rhymes: -ɛŋk

Borrowed from English tank.

tank m (plural tanks, diminutive tankje n)

1. tank (storage reservoir)
2. tank (armoured fighting vehicle with tracks and direct-fire gun)

   Synonym: vechtwagen

3. (slang) A muscular, physically imposing man.

• antitankmijn
• gevechtstank
• mannelijke tank
• tankmijn
• tanktoren
• tankval
• vrouwelijke tank

• → Aukan: tenki
• → Caribbean Javanese: tèng

• pantserwagen

See the etymology of the corresponding lemma form.

tank

1. inflection of tanken:
   1. first-person singular present indicative
   2. imperative

• kant

English tank.

• IPA^(key): /tɑ̃k/, (Quebec) /taŋk/

• Audio

  (file)

tank m (plural tanks)

1. tank (military vehicle)

   Synonyms: char, char d’assaut, char de combat

2. (Canada) tank (container)

   Synonym: réservoir

• “tank”, in Trésor de la langue française informatisé [Digitized Treasury of the French Language], 2012.

• IPA^(key): /taŋk/

• Audio

  (file)

• Rhymes: -aŋk

tank

1. singular imperative of tanken
2. (colloquial) first-person singular present of tanken

Borrowed from English tank.[1]

• IPA^(key): [ˈtɒŋk]
• Hyphenation: tank
• Rhymes: -ɒŋk

tank (plural tankok)

1. tank (a closed container for liquids or gases)
2. tank, fuel tank (the fuel reservoir of a vehicle)

   Synonym: üzemanyagtartály

3. (military) tank, armoured fighting vehicle (military fighting vehicle)

   Synonyms: harckocsi, páncélkocsi, páncélos

4. (photography) developing tank (a closed container used for developing film in a daylight environment)

   Synonym: előhívó tank

• tank in Bárczi, Géza and László Országh. A magyar nyelv értelmező szótára (‘The Explanatory Dictionary of the Hungarian Language’, abbr.: ÉrtSz.). Budapest: Akadémiai Kiadó, 1959–1962. Fifth ed., 1992: →ISBN

Unadapted borrowing from Dutch tank, from English tank, from Portuguese tanque (“tank, liquid container”), originally from Indian vernacular for a large artificial water reservoir, cistern, pool, etc., for example, Gujarati ટાંકી (ṭā̃kī) or Marathi टाकी (ṭākī), from Sanskrit तडग (taḍaga, “pond”). Doublet of tangki.

• IPA^(key): /ˈtɛŋk/, /ˈtaŋ/
• Hyphenation: tank
• Homophone: tang (in second pronunciation)

tank (first-person possessive tankku, second-person possessive tankmu, third-person possessive tanknya)

1. tank, an armoured fighting vehicle, armed with a gun in a turret, and moving on caterpillar tracks.

• tang
• teng

• kereta kebal (Brunei, Malaysia, Singapore)

• “tank” in Kamus Besar Bahasa Indonesia, Jakarta: Agency for Language Development and Cultivation – Ministry of Education, Culture, Research, and Technology of the Republic of Indonesia, 2016.

Unadapted borrowing from English tank.

• IPA^(key): /ˈtɛnk/, /ˈtank/[1]
• Rhymes: -ɛnk, -ank
• Hyphenation: tànk

tank m (invariable)

1. tank (military and container)

Borrowed from English tank.

tank m (definite singular tanken, indefinite plural tanker, definite plural tankene)

1. a tank (container, as below)
2. (military, nonstandard since 2005) a tank (armoured fighting vehicle) (form removed with the spelling reform of 2005; superseded by tanks)

   Synonym: stridsvogn

• “tank” in The Bokmål Dictionary.

• kant

• IPA^(key): /tank/

Borrowed from English tank.

tank m (definite singular tanken, indefinite plural tankar, definite plural tankane)

1. a tank (closed container for liquids or gases)
2. (military, nonstandard since 2005) a tank (armoured fighting vehicle) ((pre-2005) alternative form of tanks)

   Synonym: stridsvogn

tank

1. imperative of tanka

• “tank” in The Nynorsk Dictionary.

• kant

tank c

1. tank (container for liquids)

• dunk
• tanke

• kant

From English tank.

• IPA^(key): /ˈtɑŋk/
• Rhymes: -ɑŋk

tank (definite accusative tankı, plural tanklar)

1. tank