in the tank

prepositional phrase

Supportive, approving, favorably disposed.

“He went in the tank after his opponent put him all in.”

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Meanings

prepositional phrase
  1. USidiomaticoftengovernmentSupportive, approving, favorably disposed.

    [J]ournalists were stung by a pair of "Saturday Night Live" skits that portrayed them as in the tank for Obama.

    2008 May 5, Howard Kurtz, “Media Notes: Obama's Chilly Spring”, in Washington Post, retrieved 02 Nov 2016
    2 more examples

    "We are working hard to get the word out and meet the people, but in some ways it seems as if the press is in the tank for Villaraigosa."

    2009 February 11, “Craig Rubin: L.A. mayoral candidate”, in Los Angeles Times, retrieved 02 Nov 2016

    Leading the charge of the utterly crazy is, you won’t be surprised to hear, Donald Trump, who has accused the Fed of being in the tank for Democrats.

    2016 February 12, Paul Krugman, “On Economic Stupidity”, in New York Times, retrieved 02 Nov 2016
  2. idiomaticinformalIn a state of decline, failure, or prolonged poor performance.
  3. idiomaticIn reserve; available for future use.

    “When you lose a fight knowing you had more in the tank or that you should’ve done something different, those regrets haunt you,” MacDonald said. “You learn from that, so it never happens again. It makes you better.”

    2018 September 27, Lance Pugmire, “Rory MacDonald is one tough competitor”, in Los Angeles Times
    1 more example

    “I’m leaving, because with such a privileged role comes responsibility — the responsibility to know when you are the right person to lead and also when you are not,” said Ms. Ardern […]. “I know what this job takes. And I know that I no longer have enough in the tank to do it justice. It’s that simple.”

    2023 January 19, Christina Caron, “Should You Quit Your Job?”, in The New York Times
  4. slangcard gamesContemplating a decision for a long time.

    He went in the tank after his opponent put him all in.

Cite this entry
APA

in the tank. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 5, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/in%20the%20tank

MLA

“in the tank.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/in%20the%20tank. Accessed November 5, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “in the tank,” accessed November 5, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/in%20the%20tank.

Source: in the tank on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.