tank car
1
4.0
- noun
- /tæŋk kɑr/
- Specialized
:
vagón cisterna
- He reached out for the ladder on a tank car and, gripping tightly, hoisted himself up.
- tank car steel
- tank car carrying
Examples
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The FRA, meanwhile, has been conducting its own research program into tank car design.
Academic text (2007) -
Daily for several weeks, the road supplied five 10,000-gallon tank cars at its own expense, providing this precious fluid to farmers for their most pressing livestock needs.
Academic text (2007) -
As with any form of transportation, weight is a primary concern, so a design for a stronger tank car has a practical limit in mass.
Academic text (2007) -
And so it's sold as a liquid in tank cars, railroad tank cars.
-
Among their provisions, the new standards require tank car steel to be a full inch thick.
Academic text (2007) -
The shipper, the tank car maker, and the rail operator have joined forces for stronger cars, and now they have government support, too.
Academic text (2007) -
One of them, a tank car carrying chlorine, ruptured.
Academic text (2007) -
The association has published a new set of standards for tank cars that carry anhydrous ammonia and chlorine.
Academic text (2007) -
The Stovers say the spill from the tank car was 35,000 gallons.
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The accident ruptured tank cars, spilling sulfuric acid in a mountain pass between Leadville and Vail.
Synonyms
596
1.0
A large container that holds liquids or gases
130
5.7
A vehicle on tracks that carries passengers or goods
6
2.5
A vehicle on railway tracks that carries people or goods
5
3.7
A vehicle that runs on railway tracks to carry people or goods
4
3.2
A vehicle on a train that carries goods like boxes or crates
1
2.3
A vehicle that runs on tracks and carries people or goods
How Open
Surface Forms
Morphology
The meaning 'a railroad freight car designed for transporting liquids or gases' is directly and compositionally derivable from 'tank' (a vessel for liquids/gases) + 'car' (a rail vehicle) — essentially a car that is a tank or contains a tank. This compound pattern is straightforward and cross-linguistically common, so a B1 learner who knows both constituents would readily infer the MWE meaning.
Etymology
The compound tank car comes from a simple picture: a railroad car with a large round tank fixed on top. So today tank car means 'a railroad car for carrying liquids or gases in large amounts'.