tanker

noun

tank·​er ˈtaŋ-kər How to pronounce tanker (audio)
1
a
: a cargo ship fitted with tanks for carrying liquid in bulk
b
: a vehicle on which a tank is mounted to carry fluids
also : a cargo airplane for transporting fuel
2
: a member of a military tank crew

Examples of tanker in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Life in Gaza has been sustained by intermittent convoys of water tankers and trucks with cargoes of plastic bottles. Claudine Ebeid, The Atlantic, 6 Feb. 2025 Recommended The Monitor's View A migrant debate cuts across the Americas When one such tanker was hit and destroyed, the battle group helped evacuate its Filipino crew to safety aboard the USS Eisenhower. Anna Mulrine Grobe, The Christian Science Monitor, 28 Jan. 2025 One of the tankers ran aground, and the other simply broke in two; both had been in operation for around 50 years. Andrei Kolesnikov, Foreign Affairs, 23 Jan. 2025 Just last year alone, the 183 sanctioned tankers transported around 687 million barrels of crude, of which 30% were shipped to India. Lee Ying Shan, CNBC, 17 Jan. 2025 See all Example Sentences for tanker 

Word History

First Known Use

1900, in the meaning defined at sense 1a

Time Traveler
The first known use of tanker was in 1900

Dictionary Entries Near tanker

Cite this Entry

“Tanker.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/tanker. Accessed 22 Feb. 2025.

Kids Definition

tanker

noun
tank·​er ˈtaŋ-kər How to pronounce tanker (audio)
: a vehicle (as a ship, truck, or aircraft) designed for the transportation of liquids

More from Merriam-Webster on tanker

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