tank town

noun

A small, unimportant, place.

“Nothing ever happens in this little tank town.”

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Meanings

nountank town (plural tank towns)

plural tank towns

  1. A small, unimportant, place.

    Nothing ever happens in this little tank town.

    1 more example

    In 1884 four masked bandits held up a Southern Pacific passenger train as it stopped at the little tank town of Panitano for water.

    2004, Thomas Penfield, Dig Here!: Lost Mines & Buried Treasure of the Southwest, Adventures Unlimited Press, page 143

Synonyms & antonyms

Also see
jerkwater town

Origin

From the practice of steam locomotives stopping at small towns to take on water.

Full word history & related roots →
Cite this entry
APA

tank town. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 4, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/tank%20town

MLA

“tank town.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/tank%20town. Accessed November 4, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “tank town,” accessed November 4, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/tank%20town.

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