tanker

noun · verb

Simple meaning

A tankship, a vessel used to transport large quantities of fluid.

Pronunciation

Say it like this:

tangker

Say the bold part a little louder.

US device voice

IPA pronunciation (US)

ˈtæŋkɚ

This word is pronounced essentially the same in American and British English, so one transcription covers both.

IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) is a standard way of writing speech sounds.

Word Review

Definition

Everyday modern meanings first, grouped by part of speech.

noun

nautical
A tankship, a vessel used to transport large quantities of fluid.
automotiveUS
A motor truck with a tank to hold bulk liquid (with or without internal baffles).
automotiveUK
A fuel tanker, petrol tanker, road tanker.

verb

transitive
To transport (oil, etc.) in a tanker.

Word at a Glance

Difficulty: B2 · Upper Intermediate (estimated)
Frequency: Uncommon
Formality: Technical

Word Aura™

How this word commonly comes across.

Aura for this meaning

This meaning: A tankship, a vessel used to transport large quantities of fluid.

Used this way, tanker is a specialist word that usually carries little praise or criticism of its own. This is a nautical use: it is standard at sea and largely unfamiliar ashore.

Emotional tone: Neutral
Formality: Specialist/technical
Intensity: Not strongly marked
How common: Specialized
Connotation: Clinical and technical
Usage feel: Technical and specialized

Where it naturally appears

Sailing/maritime
Technical/specialist writing

Usage note

In general conversation this sense usually needs explaining — outside its field, people reach for a plainer word.

Word Aura describes common impressions, not a measurement. Tone changes with sentence, speaker, relationship and situation.

Common Patterns and Combinations

How this word naturally appears with others.

Aircraft / carry

tanker aircraft

Tankship

large tanker

Motor

tanker truck

Tank

ton tanker

Other combinations

oil tankertanker trafficworld tankerbritish tanker

Tap the highlighted word to open its own entry.

Similar Words, What’s the Difference?

Close in meaning, but not always interchangeable.

oil tanker
A ship that transports oil (petroleum), such as crude oil or bunker oil.
oiler
An assistant in the engine room of a ship, senior only to a wiper, mainly responsible for keeping machinery lubricated.
tank ship
A cargo ship designed to carry crude oil in bulk.

Word Family

Related forms, grouped by how they connect.

Inflected forms

Grammatical variations of the same word.

tanknounBase word
An enclosed armored military vehicle.

Compound terms

Established multiword terms.

tanker planenounCompound term
An airplane constructed to transport chemicals that can be dropped in order to fight a forest fire.
oil tankernounCompound term
A cargo ship designed to carry crude oil in bulk.

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Dictionary data from Wiktionary via the Free Dictionary API. Simple meanings, combinations and word intelligence are built from verified reference data, no AI is used to load this page.