Tank
The word “tank” has many meanings. As a noun:
- a usually large receptacle for holding, transporting, or storing liquids (as water or fuel)
- an enclosed heavily armed and armored combat vehicle that moves on tracks (坦克)
- U.S. slang. A cell in a police station, spec. one in which several prisoners (esp. drunks) are held. ( 尤指监狱的单人房间)
As a verb:
- to place, store, or treat in a tank (not common)
- to make no effort to win : lose intentionally (Example: “He tanked the match.”)
Other uses not in the dictionary:
- to drop in value sharply, usually used of stocks. (”Amazon’s stock tanked on Friday.” — the stock declined sharply in value .)
You will also hear: “That stock is in the tank.” This means the stock is worth little or is performing poorly.
You might also hear: “That stock tanked in value.” I find this usage questionable, though, since it is somewhat redundant.
“Tanked” in this sense is associated with the idea of something falling, going down in value, or performing poorly. Thus you will also hear “tanked” or “in the tank” used with other things not related to stocks.
Examples:
“My grades tanked last semester.” (My grades went way down last semester.)
“Her last movie tanked.” (Her movie did poorly or was unpopular.)
“Her career is in the tank.” (Her career is not going well.)
- drunk (喝醉了的). This is slang.
Examples:
“We got so tanked last night.” (We got so drunk last night.)
“We were all tanked up last night.” (Sometimes you will see it with “up” — same meaning, drunk).
“Tank up” could also mean “fill the gas tank of a car with gas.” You don’t hear this often, however.
Sometimes you will hear the phrase “tanked up on” something. Example: “tanked up on caffeine” or “tanked up on sugar.” This is similar to saying “drunk on caffeine” or “drunk on sugar.” Sometimes “tanked up” doesn’t really mean “drunk,” though.
Example: “We were all pretty tanked up after the game.”
In this case, “tanked up” could mean “excited” or “full of energy.” Normally, though, “tanked” or “tanked up” means “drunk.”
Note: I now have the latest edition of the Oxford English Dictionary (OED), which is considered the authoritative dictionary of the English language. I will use definitions from the OED more often now.
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