tanker plane
1
5.6
- noun
- /ˈtæŋkər pleɪn/
- Specialized
:
avión cisterna
Examples
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There were two or three fixed-wing tanker planes dropping the red slurry stuff.
Blog text (16) -
The tanker plane released a large quantity of water over the forest fire to help extinguish the flames.
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During the wildfire, multiple tanker planes worked together to drop fire retardant on the burning areas.
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The firefighters watched as the tanker plane flew overhead, preparing to drop its load of chemicals on the blaze.
Synonyms
877
1.0
A flying machine with fixed wings that carries people or goods through the air
How Much
Surface Forms
Morphology
The meaning is directly compositional: 'tanker' denotes a vehicle that transports liquids and 'plane' denotes an aircraft, so a 'tanker plane' is predictably an aircraft used to carry liquids (e.g., water or chemicals). This noun–noun compounding follows common cross-linguistic patterns, so a B1 learner who knows both constituents should be able to infer the MWE's meaning.
Etymology
The name tanker plane comes from tanker, a big vehicle that holds liquid, and plane, a flying machine. Imagine a large plane with tanks full of water or chemicals to stop fires, so the phrase means 'a plane that carries and drops water or chemicals to fight fires'.