tank
/ˈtæŋk/
"tank" is a 4-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“tank” is a regularly-used English word, ranked #2,647 in English word frequency and used as a noun.
- #2,647
- frequency rank, English
- 4
- letters
- 6
- tracked misspellings
- 20
- confusable pairs
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - A closed container for liquids or gases.
Visual similarity to commonly confused words
How many letter changes separate each confused pair (Levenshtein distance, normalized).
Source: PlainSpell confusable corpus (Wiktionary, CC BY-SA).
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Headword | tank |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Noun |
| IPA | /ˈtæŋk/ |
| Letters | 4 |
| Frequency rank | #2,647 |
| Misspellings tracked | 6 |
| Confusable pairs | 20 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Where “tank” sits in English frequency
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
The English entry for tank is 4 letters long, classified as a noun, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as /ˈtæŋk/. Corpus data places it at rank #2,647 in overall English word frequency, indicating it appears regularly in written and spoken text. Wiktionary records 15 distinct senses for this headword, so context determines which meaning a reader should apply.
Our generated misspelling index lists 6 likely wrong-spelling variants for tank, with forms such as "atnk", "takn", and "tankk". Every one of these variants traces to a single-character edit -- an added or dropped letter, a swapped consonant, or a vowel swap -- the kind of slip a spell-checker is built to catch. It also participates in 20 confusable-pair relationships, "TN", "TK", "tax", and more, since the words sound or look close enough that writers reach for the wrong one mid-sentence.
Etymologically, the entry records: From Portuguese tanque (“tank, liquid container”), from an Indo-Aryan language, likely Gujarati ટાંકી (ṭā̃kī, “cistern”) or Marathi टांकी (ṭāṅkī). Compare the Arabic verb اِسْتَنْقَعَ (istanqaʕa, “to become stagnant, to stagnate”). In the sense of armoured … The correct English form is tank, spelled T-A-N-K.
Definition
- 1A closed container for liquids or gases.
- 2An open container or pool for storing water or other liquids.
- 3A pond, pool, or small lake (either natural or artificial).
- 4The fuel reservoir of a vehicle.
- 5The amount held by a container; a tankful.
- 6An armoured fighting vehicle, armed with a gun designed for direct fire, and moving on caterpillar tracks.
- 7A reservoir or dam.
- 8A structure of tightly overlapping leaves used by some bromeliads to retain water.
- 9A very muscular and physically imposing person; somebody who is built like a tank.
- 10A bouncer or doorman.
- 11A unit or character designed primarily around damage absorption and holding the attention of the enemy (as opposed to dealing damage, healing, or other tasks).
- 12A prison cell, or prison generally.
- 13A metaphorical place where a player goes to contemplate a decision; see in the tank.
- 14Ellipsis of tank engine or tank locomotive.
- 15Ellipsis of tank top.
Etymology
From Portuguese tanque (“tank, liquid container”), from an Indo-Aryan language, likely Gujarati ટાંકી (ṭā̃kī, “cistern”) or Marathi टांकी (ṭāṅkī). Compare the Arabic verb اِسْتَنْقَعَ (istanqaʕa, “to become stagnant, to stagnate”). In the sense of armoured vehicle, first attested in 1915, prototypes were described as tanks for carrying water to disguise their nature as well as due to physical resemblance.
Synonyms
Antonyms
This word in other languages
Common misspellings
Also misspelled as: atnk,takn,tankk,tannk,tnak,ttank
Misspelling Pattern Breakdown
How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of tank - measured in single-character edits (insert, delete, or substitute a letter). Larger bars are easier to catch; one-edit slips are the sneakiest.
Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA); frequency ordering uses the FrequencyWords open word-frequency list (2018 English corpus, MIT). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.
Frequently Asked Questions
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Using “tank”
The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.
- The one correct English spelling is T-A-N-K - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
- Say it as /ˈtæŋk/ (IPA); tap the speaker on the pronunciation badge to hear it where audio exists.
- Don't mix it up with “TN” - see the side-by-side comparison. tank vs TN
- Browse more English words and confusable pairs in the same reference. English words
Data Source
Wiktionary (via kaikki.org), licensed under CC BY-SA & GFDL. Word ordering uses an open word-frequency list; misspelling variants are generated by edit-distance from the correct headword.