Tank Definition
To fail or fall (often used in describing the economy or the stock market); to degenerate or decline rapidly; to plummet.
- In reserve:
a runner who didn't have enough in the tank to hold the lead.
- In a state of decline or failure:
Stocks have been in the tank for months.
- to lose or fail badly or on purpose
- to supply with or get a full tank of fuel
- to drink much liquor
Idioms, Phrasal Verbs Related to Tank
- in the tank
- go in the tank
- tank up
Origin of Tank
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Partly from Gujarati tānkh cistern (from Sanskrit taḍāgaḥ pond) (perhaps of Dravidian origin) and partly from Portuguese tanque reservoir (variant of estanque) (from estancar to dam up) (from Vulgar Latin stanticāre stanch1)
From American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition
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From Portuguese tanque (“tank, liquid container"), originally from Indian vernacular for a large artificial water reservoir, cistern, pool, etc., for example, Gujarati ટાંકી (ṭāṅkÄ«), or Marathi [Devanagari?] [script?] (take). Compare the Arabic verb استنقع (istanqáʕa, “to become stagnant, to stagnate").
From Wiktionary
In the sense of armoured vehicle, to disguise their nature, prototypes were described as tanks for carrying water (1915).
From Wiktionary
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