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View synonyms for

think tank

noun

  1. a research institute or organization employed to solve complex problems or predict or plan future developments, as in military, political, or social areas.


think-tank

noun

  1. informal.
    a group of specialists organized by a business enterprise, governmental body, etc, and commissioned to undertake intensive study and research into specified problems
“Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged” 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

think tank

  1. An institution in which scholars pursue research in public policy. Largely funded by endowments and grants, think tanks work to improve public awareness of policy issues (through publications) and to influence the government to act upon issues of national importance. ( See power elite .)
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Word History and Origins

Origin of think tank1

1900–05 for earlier sense “brain”; 1955–60 for current sense
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Idioms and Phrases

A group or organization dedicated to problem-solving and research, especially in such areas as technology, social or political strategy, and the military. For example, The congressional leaders rely too heavily on that conservative think tank . This term originated about 1900 as a facetious colloquialism for brain and was given its new meaning about 1950.
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Example Sentences

Examples have not been reviewed.

“The economy does best when government doesn’t pick winners and losers,” said Wayne Winegarden, senior fellow of business and economics at Pacific Research Institute, a California-based think tank that advocates for free markets.

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David Ditch, a senior analyst at the Economic Policy Innovation Center, a conservative think tank, insists Doge's work is necessary:

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Stan Veuger, a senior fellow in economic policy studies at the American Enterprise Institute, a center right think tank, described the Trump administration’s tariff rollouts as an “embarrassing implosion of the U.S.”

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More than 100 factories in Thailand have closed every month for the last two years, according to an estimate from a Thai think tank.

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The think tank International Crisis Group has similar concerns.

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Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.

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