Library / English Dictionary

CAN

Pronunciation (US):

(GB):

Irregular inflected forms: canned    , canning   

 I. (noun) 

Sense 1

Meaning:

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

Synonyms:

can; tin; tin can

Classified under:

Nouns denoting man-made objects

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"):

beer can (a can that holds beer)

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)

Derivation:

can (preserve in a can or tin)

Sense 2

Meaning:

A room or building equipped with one or more toilets

Synonyms:

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

Classified under:

Nouns denoting man-made objects

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)

Sense 3

Meaning:

A plumbing fixture for defecation and urination

Synonyms:

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

Classified under:

Nouns denoting man-made objects

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

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

Sense 4

Meaning:

The fleshy part of the human body that you sit on

Example:

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

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

Classified under:

Nouns denoting body parts

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 buoy with a round bottom and conical top

Synonyms:

can; can buoy

Classified under:

Nouns denoting communicative processes and contents

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 6

Meaning:

The quantity contained in a can

Synonyms:

can; canful

Classified under:

Nouns denoting quantities and units of measure

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

containerful (the quantity that a container will hold)

 II. (verb) 

Sense 1

Meaning:

Preserve in a can or tin

Example:

tinned foods are not very tasty

Synonyms:

can; put up; tin

Classified under:

Verbs of size, temperature change, intensifying, etc.

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

Example:

The company terminated 25% of its workers

Synonyms:

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

Classified under:

Verbs of political and social activities and events

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

Credits

 Context examples: 

I can assure you that many times in the course of the evening I wished that I could invent some excuse which would take me back to Lee.

(His Last Bow, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)

This, then, is the last time, short of a miracle, that Henry Jekyll can think his own thoughts or see his own face (now how sadly altered!) in the glass.

(The Strange Case Of Dr. Jekyll And Mr. Hyde, by Robert Louis Stevenson)

Wherever a man is, says I, a man can do for himself.

(Treasure Island, by Robert Louis Stevenson)

I can remember her all through her beautiful life for she was but a girl when she married, and little more when I can first recall her busy fingers and her gentle voice.

(Rodney Stone, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)

“I can make some show at it,” said big John; “though I was scarce long enough among the monks to catch the whole trick of it.”

(The White Company, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)

Any bacterial organism that can be assigned to the species Abiotrophia defectiva.

(Abiotrophia defectiva, NCI Thesaurus/CDISC)

An abnormal human cell type which can occur in either disease states or disease models.

(Abnormal Cell, NCI Thesaurus)

Severity can range from absence of symptoms to death.

(ABO Hemolytic Disease of the Newborn, NCI Thesaurus)

You can get an abscess almost anywhere in your body.

(Abscess, NIH)

Any bacteria that is not assigned to the species level but can be assigned to the Abiotrophia genus level.

(Abiotrophia, NCI Thesaurus/CDISC)