to empty the tank
- phrasal verb
:
vaciar el tanque
- She remembered to empty the tank after finishing the cleaning job.
Examples
-
We need to empty the tank before the next race!
-
Always empty the tank before attempting any maintenance on the engine.
-
The campers were told to empty the tank to avoid leaks during transport.
-
Why did they empty the tank so quickly?
-
Before you clean the aquarium, make sure to empty the tank completely to remove all the old water.
-
If you want to store the propane, you should empty the tank to prevent any leaks.
-
He decided to empty the tank of gas before taking the car into the shop for repairs.
Synonyms
260
1.0
To empty something completely
179
1.0
To remove everything from a container or place
125
2.6
Take things or people out of a vehicle like a truck
91
3.1
Remove all things from a place so it becomes empty
91
3.2
Empty a place or container by removing everything inside
5
5.0
To take out what is inside a container so it becomes empty
2
5.8
To make a place empty by removing all people or things
To empty dirty liquid or other waste from a container like a bucket
To take goods off a vehicle like a ship
How Empty
Surface Forms
Morphology
The literal meanings of 'empty' (remove all contents) and 'tank' (a container) give a clear clue that something is being used up, so a B1 learner could plausibly infer a metaphorical sense of using all resources in context. However, the extension of a physical container to mean a person's energy or stamina is figurative and not guaranteed to be predictable without prior exposure, so the expression is only partially transparent.
Etymology
Empty the tank comes from the simple action of opening a valve and letting all the fuel or water flow out of a tank. So, it means 'to remove all the contents'.