tank up

Collins Concise English Dictionary © HarperCollins Publishers::

tank up verb (adverb)

1. to fill the tank of (a vehicle) with petrol
2. to imbibe or cause to imbibe a large quantity of alcoholic drink

WordReference Random House Learner's Dictionary of American English © 2026

tank /tæŋk/   n. [countable]

1. a large container for holding a liquid or gas:
   a full tank of gas.
2. Military an armored combat vehicle, moving on a belt of treads and usually armed with a cannon.
3. Clothing tank top.

tank•ful, n. [countable] , pl. -fuls. 

WordReference Random House Unabridged Dictionary of American English © 2026

tank  (tangk), n. 

1. a large receptacle, container, or structure for holding a liquid or gas:
   tanks for storing oil.
2. a natural or artificial pool, pond, or lake.
3. Military an armored, self-propelled combat vehicle, armed with cannon and machine guns and moving on a caterpillar tread.
4. Slang Terms a prison cell or enclosure for more than one occupant, as for prisoners awaiting a hearing.
5. Clothing See tank top. 
6. Sport go in the tank, [Boxing Slang.] to go through the motions of a match but deliberately lose because of an illicit prearrangement or fix;
   throw a fight.

v.t. 

7. to put or store in a tank.
8. tank up:
   • to fill the gas tank of an automobile or other motor vehicle.
   • Slang Terms to drink a great quantity of alcoholic beverage, esp. to intoxication.
9. Slang Terms to do poorly or decline rapidly;
   fail:
   The movie tanked at the box office.

• Vulgar Latin *stanticāre) to dam up, weaken; adopted as a cover name for the military vehicle during the early stages of its manufacture in England (December, 1915)
• Gujarati tānkh reservoir, lake, and Portuguese tanque, contraction of estanque pond, literally, something dammed up, derivative of estancar (
• perh. jointly 1610–20

tank′less, adj. 
tank′like′, adj. 

tank, +v.i. 

1. Slang Terms to do poorly or decline rapidly;
   fail:
   The movie tanked at the box office.