CAN (canned, canning)

Pronunciation (US):

(GB):

IPA (US):

Irregular inflected forms: canned    , canning   

 Dictionary entry overview: What does can mean? 

• CAN (noun)
  The noun CAN has 6 senses:

1. airtight sealed metal container for food or drink or paint etc.

2. the quantity contained in a can

3. a buoy with a round bottom and conical top

4. the fleshy part of the human body that you sit on

5. a plumbing fixture for defecation and urination

6. a room or building equipped with one or more toilets

  Familiarity information: CAN used as a noun is common.

• CAN (verb)
  The verb CAN has 2 senses:

1. preserve in a can or tin

2. terminate the employment of; discharge from an office or position

  Familiarity information: CAN used as a verb is rare.

 Dictionary entry details 

• CAN (noun)

Sense 1

Meaning:

Airtight sealed metal container for food or drink or paint etc.

Classified under:

Nouns denoting man-made objects

Synonyms:

can; tin; tin can

Hypernyms ("can" is a kind of...):

container (any object that can be used to hold things (especially a large metal boxlike object of standardized dimensions that can be loaded from one form of transport to another))

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "can"):

caddy; tea caddy (a can for storing tea)

cannikin (a small can)

coffee can (a can for storing ground coffee)

milk can (large can for transporting milk)

oilcan (a can with a long nozzle to apply oil to machinery)

soda can (a can for holding soft drinks)

beer can (a can that holds beer)

Derivation:

can (preserve in a can or tin)

Sense 2

Meaning:

The quantity contained in a can

Classified under:

Nouns denoting quantities and units of measure

Synonyms:

can; canful

Hypernyms ("can" is a kind of...):

containerful (the quantity that a container will hold)

Sense 3

Meaning:

A buoy with a round bottom and conical top

Classified under:

Nouns denoting communicative processes and contents

Synonyms:

can; can buoy

Hypernyms ("can" is a kind of...):

buoy (bright-colored; a float attached by rope to the seabed to mark channels in a harbor or underwater hazards)

Sense 4

Meaning:

The fleshy part of the human body that you sit on

Classified under:

Nouns denoting body parts

Synonyms:

arse; ass; backside; behind; bottom; bum; buns; butt; buttocks; can; derriere; fanny; fundament; hind end; hindquarters; keister; nates; posterior; prat; rear; rear end; rump; seat; stern; tail; tail end; tooshie; tush

Context example:

are you going to sit on your fanny and do nothing?

Hypernyms ("can" is a kind of...):

body part (any part of an organism such as an organ or extremity)

Holonyms ("can" is a part of...):

body; torso; trunk (the body excluding the head and neck and limbs)

Sense 5

Meaning:

A plumbing fixture for defecation and urination

Classified under:

Nouns denoting man-made objects

Synonyms:

can; commode; crapper; pot; potty; stool; throne; toilet

Hypernyms ("can" is a kind of...):

plumbing fixture (a fixture for the distribution and use of water in a building)

Meronyms (parts of "can"):

toilet bowl (the bowl of a toilet that can be flushed with water)

toilet seat (the hinged seat on a toilet)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "can"):

flushless toilet (a toilet that relies on bacteria to break down waste matter (instead of using water))

flush toilet; lavatory (a toilet that is cleaned of waste by the flow of water through it)

potty chair; potty seat (toilet consisting of a small seat used by young children)

Holonyms ("can" is a part of...):

bathroom (a room (as in a residence) containing a bathtub or shower and usually a washbasin and toilet)

bathroom; can; john; lav; lavatory; privy; toilet (a room or building equipped with one or more toilets)

Sense 6

Meaning:

A room or building equipped with one or more toilets

Classified under:

Nouns denoting man-made objects

Synonyms:

bathroom; can; john; lav; lavatory; privy; toilet

Hypernyms ("can" is a kind of...):

room (an area within a building enclosed by walls and floor and ceiling)

Meronyms (parts of "can"):

can; commode; crapper; pot; potty; stool; throne; toilet (a plumbing fixture for defecation and urination)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "can"):

head ((nautical) a toilet on board a boat or ship)

comfort station; convenience; public convenience; public lavatory; public toilet; restroom; toilet facility; wash room (a toilet that is available to the public)

washroom (a lavatory (particularly a lavatory in a public place))

closet; loo; W.C.; water closet (a toilet in Britain)

• CAN (verb)

Present simple: I / you / we / they can    ... he / she / it cans   
Past simple: canned   
Past participle: canned   
-ing form: canning   

Sense 1

Meaning:

Preserve in a can or tin

Classified under:

Verbs of size, temperature change, intensifying, etc.

Synonyms:

can; put up; tin

Context example:

tinned foods are not very tasty

Hypernyms (to "can" is one way to...):

keep; preserve (prevent (food) from rotting)

Domain category:

cookery; cooking; preparation (the act of preparing something (as food) by the application of heat)

Sentence frame:

Somebody ----s something

Sentence example:

The chefs can the vegetables

Derivation:

can (airtight sealed metal container for food or drink or paint etc.)

cannery (a factory where food is canned)

Sense 2

Meaning:

Terminate the employment of; discharge from an office or position

Classified under:

Verbs of political and social activities and events

Synonyms:

can; dismiss; displace; fire; force out; give notice; give the axe; give the sack; sack; send away; terminate

Context example:

The company terminated 25% of its workers

Hypernyms (to "can" is one way to...):

remove (remove from a position or an office)

Troponyms (each of the following is one way to "can"):

retire (make (someone) retire)

pension off (let go from employment with an attractive pension)

clean out (force out)

furlough; lay off (dismiss, usually for economic reasons)

squeeze out (force out)

dismiss; drop; send away; send packing (stop associating with)

Sentence frames:

Somebody ----s somebody
Somebody ----s somebody to INFINITIVE

 Context examples 

You need the discipline of study, such as only skilled teachers can give you.

(Martin Eden, by Jack London)

This linnet, as near as I can remember, seemed to be somewhat larger than an English swan.

(Gulliver's Travels into several remote nations of the world, by Jonathan Swift)

Said another way, the opposition can feel like two halves of an apple coming together to make a whole, or it can feel like a tug of war.

(AstrologyZone.com, by Susan Miller)

“Well, if we can’t we can’t,” said Holmes, cheerfully.

(The Memoirs of Sherlock Holmes, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)

"The smell of the flowers is killing us all. I myself can scarcely keep my eyes open, and the dog is asleep already."

(The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, by L. Frank Baum)

But the son thought to himself, “What can such a beast as this know about the matter?”

(Fairy Tales, by The Brothers Grimm)

"Yet her lungs can't stand the exposure. She can't travel till the temperature rises. And I'm not going to give her up."

(Love of Life and Other Stories, by Jack London)

It must be where she can lay her hands upon it. It must be in her own house.

(The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)

“But you can’t mean it!” I cried out, overcome with the horror of it.

(The Sea-Wolf, by Jack London)

Step this way, if you please, gentlemen, and I think I can convince you once for all that it was John McFarlane who did this crime.

(The Return of Sherlock Holmes, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)