tankful

Everyday

A tankful is the amount a tank can hold when full: a tankful of petrol, a tankful of water. tree →

In the lessons

In everyday life it is used for fuel in cars and water in fish tanks. In maths word problems, a tankful is a measure: "A tankful of petrol is 50 litres; the car goes 600 km on a tankful." Phrases: "a tankful of", "on one tankful", "fill a tankful".

Examples

• The car can go 500 miles on a tankful of petrol. tree →
• We emptied a tankful of dirty water from the fish tank. tree →
• A tankful costs a lot of money now. tree →
• How many buckets make a tankful? tree →
• The farmer used a tankful of water for the cows each day. tree →
• If a tankful is 40 litres and you use 8 litres a day, it lasts 5 days. tree →
• The firefighters sprayed a whole tankful on the fire. tree →

Note

Plural: tankfuls (not "tanksful"). The ending -ful makes a measuring noun, like cupful, spoonful, handful. In maths problems, a tankful is the tank's full capacity; half a tankful is half of that.