'Tank engine' definitions:

Definition of 'tank engine'

From: WordNet
noun
A locomotive that carries its own fuel and water; no tender is needed [syn: tank engine, tank locomotive]

Definition of 'Tank engine'

From: GCIDE
  • Tank \Tank\ (t[a^][ng]k), n. [Pg. tanque, L. stangum a pool; or perhaps of East Indian origin. Cf. Stank, n.]
  • 1. A large basin or cistern; an artificial receptacle for liquids. [1913 Webster]
  • 2. A pond, pool, or small lake, natural or artificial. [Webster 1913 Suppl.]
  • We stood in the afterglow on the bank of the tank and saw the ducks come home. --F. Remington.
  • The tanks are full and the grass is high. --Lawson. [Webster 1913 Suppl.]
  • 3. (Mil.) a heavily armored combat vehicle which moves on caterpillar treads, rather than wheels. It typically carries a cannon and a heavy machine, and sometimes other weapons. It is the main distinguishing weapon of an armored division. [PJC]
  • 4. a jail cell for temporarily holding prisoners, as in a police station. [PJC]
  • Tank engine, a locomotive which carries the water and fuel it requires, thus dispensing with a tender.
  • Tank iron, plate iron thinner than boiler plate, and thicker than sheet iron or stovepipe iron.
  • Tank worm (Zool.), a small nematoid worm found in the water tanks of India, supposed by some to be the young of the Guinea worm. [1913 Webster]