supertanker

noun

su·​per·​tank·​er ˈsü-pər-ˌtaŋ-kər 

plural supertankers

: an exceptionally large and fast cargo ship fitted with tanks for carrying liquid (such as oil) in bulk

… vessels of more than 35,000 tons—large but no giants in a world of supertankers …

—William H. MacLeish

… interrupts the … discussion with a warning that supertankers carrying liquefied gas are extremely dangerous.

—John Hersey

Examples of supertanker in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Foreign Minister Gideon Saar appealed to Greece, Cyprus, Italy, and Croatia to deploy firefighting aircraft and helicopters, including large-capacity supertankers, to support Israeli efforts to contain the fast-moving blazes. —Tom Rogers, MSNBC Newsweek, 30 Apr. 2025

So how did Archie Norman and CEO Stuart Machin even begin to turn around such a supertanker? —Natalie Berg, Forbes.com, 2 Apr. 2025

Moving the economy and the housing market higher are two other supertankers that will take time. —Brendan Ahern, Forbes, 9 Oct. 2024

Rates for supertankers crossing from the Middle East Gulf to Asia-Pacific — a bellwether route for the oil industry — picked up by more than 40% between Jan. 9 and Jan. 14, according to pricing data from Argus Media. —Ruxandra Iordache, CNBC, 16 Jan. 2025

Word History

First Known Use

1921, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for supertanker

• anchor
• anker
• banker
• canker
• hanker
• rancor
• shanker
• tanker

Kids Definition

supertanker

noun

su·​per·​tank·​er

ˈsü-pər-ˌtaŋ-kər

: a very large cargo ship fitted with tanks for carrying large amounts of liquid