tank-car

A tank-car carries oil along the railroad tracks.

Definition

1. Noun:
   • A railway vehicle for transporting liquids: A "tank-car" is a specialized railroad car designed to carry bulk liquids, such as oil, water, chemicals, or milk, in a large cylindrical tank mounted on a chassis.

Usage Examples

• Noun:
  • The train consisted of twenty tank-cars filled with crude oil. (A series of railway cars for transporting liquid petroleum.)
  • A tank-car carrying water was coupled to the rear of the freight train. (A specific car for water transport on rails.)

Advanced Usage

• "tank-car load": the quantity of liquid that a tank-car can hold.

  • Each tank-car load of gasoline weighed over 100 tons. (The full cargo capacity of one such car.)

• "tank-car fleet": a group of tank-cars operated by a company.

  • The chemical company maintains a large tank-car fleet for shipping solvents. (A collection of these specialized rail vehicles.)

Variants and Related Words

• Tank (n): a large container for storing liquids.

  • The water tank holds 500 litres. (The container itself, not the rail car.)

• Tank-truck (n): a road vehicle with a tank for transporting liquids.

  • The tank-truck delivered fuel to the gas station. (A similar vehicle for roads, not rails.)

• Car (n): a vehicle that runs on rails; a railroad car.

  • The passenger car was comfortable. (General term for a rail vehicle.)

Synonyms

• Rail tanker: another term for a tank-car.
• Liquid-carrying car: a descriptive phrase for the same type of vehicle.

Related Idioms

• "like a tank-car on a siding": a simile meaning something large and stationary.

  • He sat there like a tank-car on a siding, not moving. (Motionless and massive, like a parked tank-car.)

• "a tank-car of trouble": an informal phrase meaning a large amount of difficulty.

  • That project was a tank-car of trouble from start to finish. (An overwhelming quantity of problems, likened to the car's capacity.)